SYMBOLISM  OF 
THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 


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SYMBOLISM  OF 
THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 


BY 

JEFFERSON  B.  FLETCHER 

Professor  of  Comparative  Literature 

Columbia  University- 
Published  by  Columbia  University 
in  Commemoration  of  the  Six  Hundredth 
Anniversary  of  Dante's  Death 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 
1921 

dll  rights  reserved 


Copyright,  1921 
.      .  BX  COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 


Printed  *f rem  type.     Published  November,  1921 


CONTENTS  ^^  /Ay 

PAGE 

Ariadne's  Crown 1 

The  "Three  Blessed  Ladies"  of  the  Divine 
Comedy 114 

The  Comedy  of  Dante      210 


«) 1)  ♦  i  •  1 


INTRODUCTION 

This  scholarly  and  significant  study  of 
the  symbolism  of  Dante's  Divine  Comedy 
is  appropriately  published  at  a  time  when 
the  whole  world  is  celebrating  the  greatness 
of  the  poet  as  it  marks  the  6ooth  anniversary 
of  his  death.  Of  the  millions  of  human  voices 
a  few  score  are  heard  for  a  generation,  per- 
haps as  many  as  a  dozen  for  a  century,  and 
but  very,  very  few  for  all  time.  To  strike 
the  chord  of  human  insight  and  human 
feeling  that  will  vibrate  unceasingly  while 
time  flies  is  a  mark  of  genius  so  rare  that 
it  is  the  highest  form  of  human  achievement. 
The  poet  of  mankind  must  speak  a  particular 
language,  but  he  may  speak  it  in  a  way  that 
will  confound  the  Tower  qf^BabeJ  and  make 
the  whole  world  understand.  This  has  been 
done  by  Homer  in  Greek,  by  Dante  in  Italian, 
by  Shakespeare  in  English,  and  by  Goethe 
in  German.  Each  of  the  four  was  in  and  for 
his  time  not  only  poet  but  philosopher; 
and  it  is  the  philosophy  which  has  made  the 
poetry  live  and  which  has  given  it  a  universal 
appeal. 


viii  INTRODUCTION 

Of  all  the  forces  which  make  for  the  soli- 
darity and  common  interest  of  mankind,  that 
set  in  motion  by  these  four  poets  is  the  most 
powerful,  the  most  constant,  and  the  most 
long-continuing.  They  have  taught  men  of 
different  lands,  of  conflicting  creeds,  and  of 
varying  tongues,  to  think  and  to  feel  in 
common  about  the  noblest  experiences  and 
the  loftiest  aspirations  of  life.  They  are  both 
the  prophets,  the  heralds,  and  the  makers 
of  a  world's  progress,  seemingly  so  slow  and 
so  painful,  toward  those  higher  things  which 
are,  for  human  thinking,  the  aim  and  the 
purpose  of  all  creation. 

Nicholas  Murray  Butler 

November  i,  1921 


SYMBOLISM   OF    THE 
DIVINE   COMEDY 

ARIADNE'S  CROWN 

As  has  often  been  remarked,  each  canticle 
of  the  Divine  Comedy  ends  with  the  word 
"stelle"  or  stars.  Usually,  these  "stars"  have 
been  understood  to  be  emblems  of  hope. 
This  symbolism  holds,  but  only  as  one  item 
in  a  rich  and  complex  system.  Taken  in  the 
larger  sense,  as  including  the  planets,  the 
stars  are  the  instruments  by  which  the  angels, 
God's  agents,  inform  and  govern  all  earthly 
things,  physical  and  spiritual.  It  is  a  natural 
metaphor,  therefore,  to  ascribe  to  the  stars 
themselves,  proportionably,  the  divine  powers 
that  act  through  them;  and,  further,  by 
second  intention,  to  describe  as  stars  all 
human  powers  of  analogous  function.  This  is 
the  central  metaphor  of  the  whole  poem,  and 
indeed  of  Christian  theology  itself,  so  far  as 
that  clothed  its  abstract  ideas  in  sensuous 


2  SYMBOLISM.  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

imagery.    And-  this  theology  did  habitually ; 
since,  as  Beatrice  told  Dante, 

"Cosi  parlar  conviensi  al  vostro  ingegno, 
Pero  che  solo  da  sensato  apprende 
Cio  che  fa  poscia  d'intelletto  degno."  l 

If  the  use  of  sensuous  symbols  was  thus 
primarily  to  bring  the  supersensible  home 
to  creatures  of  sense,  yet  in  the  handling  of 
subtle  and  ingenious  metaphysicians  and 
mystics  it  too  often  ceased  to  be  illustrative 
and  simplifying,  and  became — in  almost  a 
mathematical  sense — an  intricate  and  esoteric 
symbolic  logic.  There  were,  moreover,  two 
contributory  reasons  for  this  esoterism  in 
theological  writing.  One  was  the  belief  that 
God  revealed  himself  not  only  under  the 
letter  of  Scripture,  but  also  under  the  visible 
forms  of  nature, — that  in  fine  "the  heavens 
declare  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  firmament 
sheweth  his  handiwork,"  actually  as  a  picture- 
language,  or  system  of  hieroglyphs,  intelli- 
gible to  specially  illumined  eyes.  And  the 
second  reason  followed  from  this  last  notion. 
Since  God,  the  great  Teacher,  hides  his 
deeper  meaning  from  all  but  a  few  chosen 
ones,  so  should  these  thus  taken,  as  it  were, 

1  Par.  iv,  41-42. 


ariadne's  crown 


into  his  confidence,  keep  jealous  guard  over 
his  secret,  communicating  it  only  under  seal 
to  others  like  themselves  ordained  and 
initiate.  So  the  justifying  purpose  of  symbolic 
writing  was  deliberately  inverted :  from  being 
a  method  of  bringing  abstruse  ideas  to  the 
comprehension  of  simple  minds  it  became 
virtually  a  cipher  decodable  only  by  those 
holding  the  key.  At  most,  outsiders,  the  laity, 
might  be  given  such  general  and  practical 
direction  as  might  serve  for  their  immediate 
need.  There  were  plenty  of  scriptural  texts  to 
warrant  this  exclusiveness.  Thus  St.  Bona- 
venture  quotes  Matthew  vii,  6:  "Give  not 
that  which  is  holy  unto  the  dogs,  neither  cast 
ye  your  pearls  before  swine."  2  St.  Thomas 
emphasizes  St.  Paul's  text:  "Non  plus  sapere 
qiiam  oportet  sapere."  3  And  St.  Thomas  sums 
up  the  whole  esoteric  argument  in  his 
explanation  of  Christ's  parabolic  teaching: 
"Christ  spoke  certain  things  in  secret  to  the 
crowds,  by  employing  parables  in  teaching 
them  spiritual  mysteries  which  they  were 
either  unable  or  unworthy  to  grasp :  and  yet 

2  Illuminationes  ecclesiae,  i,  prin°. 

3  In  Rom.  xii,  3.  Dante  substantially  translates  it  in 
the  "Non  domandar  piu  che  utile  ti  sia"  of  Vita  Nuova 
xii,  40-41. 


4  SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

it  was  better  for  them  to  be  instructed  in  the 
knowledge  of  spiritual  things,  albeit  hidden 
under  the  garb  of  parables,  than  to  be  de- 
prived of  it  altogether.  Nevertheless  our 
Lord  expounded  the  open  and  unveiled  truth 
of  these  parables  to  His  disciples,  so  that  they 
might  hand  it  down  to  others  worthy  of  it."4 
Dante  accepted  this  doctrine,  which  also  for 
him  was  accentuated  by  the  literary  esoterism 
of  such  poetic  models  as  his  favorite  Arnaut 
Daniel.  Indeed,  he  is  almost  supercilious  in 
his  recommendation  to  the  intellectually 
"ungentle"  reader  of  his  symbolic  canzone: 

"Ponete  mente  almen  com'  io  son  bella." 5 

And  with  like  haughtiness  he  advises  all 
small  craft  to  put  back  to  shore  from  the 
deep  waters  of  his  Paradise,  lest  they  lose 
their  bearings.6  Dante  has  not  left  his  course 
uncharted,  but  the  right  reading  of  his  log 
demands,  among  other  things,  a  more  inti- 
mate familiarity  with  what  I  may  call  the 
theological  "shop-talk"  of  the  thirteenth 
century  than  it  is  easy  at  this  date  to  acquire. 

4  S.  T.    Ill,   xlii,   3 — transl.    Domin.   Fathers,   London, 
1914. 

5  Conv.  II,  Canz.  1,  61. 

6  Par.  ii,  1-6. 


ARIADNE  S  CROWN  5 

For  instance,  the  schoolmen  would  appear  to 
have  indexed,  as  it  were,  intellectual  leaders, 
contemporary  and  earlier,  by  special  "virtues" 
— in  Walter  Pater's  sense  of  that  word.  It 
is  a  habit,  more  or  less  critical,  of  all  times. 
Petronius  illustrates  it  when  he  tagged  the 
poets, — "Homerus  testis  et  lyrici,  romanusque 
Vergilius  et  Horati  curio sa  felicitas."  7  So 
Thomas  Lodge,  when  he  indexed  "Lilly,  the 
famous  for  facility  in  discourse :  Spencer,  best 
read  in  ancient  Poetry :  Daniel,  choise  in  word, 
and  inuention:  Draiton,  diligent  and  formal: 
Th.  Nash,  true  English  Aretine,"  etc.8  In 
recent  times,  Arnold  and  Pater  have  made 
the  formulation  of  such  special  "virtues" 
of  authors  the  principal  business  of  literary 
criticism.  Once  authoritatively  so  indexed, 
any  author  is  likely  to  become  popularly 
fixed  in  that  particular  frame.  It  is  what,  to 
the  general  mind,  he  "stands  for."  Others 
besides  Horace  have  exhibited  a  "curious 
felicity"  in  style ;  still  "curiosa  felicitas"  as  a 
critical  tag  means  Horace,  and  vice  versa. 
Ask  almost  any  fairly  educated  middle-aged 
person  today  what  Wordsworth  "stands  for," 
and  he  will  probably  reply, — "the  healing- 

7  Sat.  1 1 8. 

8  Wits  Miserie,  p.  57. 


6  SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

power  of  Nature."  Mention  the  phrase,  and 
he  will  at  once  name  Wordsworth.  The  poet's 
"virtue"  has  become  his  identification-card. 
Now  the  medieval  intellectual,  drilled  his 
life  long  in  the  categories  and  schematisms  of 
scholastic  logic,  was  even  more  addicted  to 
such  short-hand  formulas  and  classificatory 
tags.9  To  him  would  have  been  apparent,  I 
think,  the  identifying  clue  to  the  various  sym- 
bolic arrangements  which  Dante  makes  of  the 
doctors  and  saints  listed  in  his  heaven  of 
the  Sun.  What  for  the  present  writer  at 
least,  is  frankly  but  laborious  inference  or 
more  or  less  plausible  guess,  would  have  been 
for  him  immediate  and  certain  recognition. 
Dante  and  his  theologically  trained  reader — 
remember  he  warned  off  all  others  from  the 
Paradise — spoke  the  same  language.  And  so 
would  be  accounted  for  his  manner  of  intro- 
ducing his  various  personages.  Some  he  cites 
merely  by  name.  These  are  presented  mani- 
festly on  the  ground  of  their  currently 
accepted  "virtues."  To  the  names  of  others  he 
adds  a  few  words  or  lines  of  characterization. 
These  pithy,  and  for  us  sometimes  enigmatic, 
descriptions  are  not,  like  Tennyson's  in  his 

9  Cf.  the  striking  example  from  St.  Bona  venture,  below 
p.  30. 


ARIADNE  S  CROWN  7 

Dream  of  Fair  Women,  merely  for  dramatic 
or  picturesque  effect.  On  the  contrary,  they 
are  rigorously  didactic.  By  them  Dante 
selects  from  current  appreciations — or,  it 
may  be,  originates — an  appreciation  of  his 
character's  virtue  special  to  Dante's  present 
use  of  him.  It  is  the  method  of  the  Comedy 
throughout.  Thus  the  name  of  Bonaventure 
might  by  itself  suggest  some  special  virtue  of 
eloquence  or  doctrine.  I  do  not  know.  But 
Dante  wishes  us  to  see  in  him  the  ideal 
ecclesiastic  who  rightly  "set  aside  the  lefthand 
care"  of  things  temporal,  who  renounced  as 
cardinal  what  the  pope  and  the  Church  as  a 
whole  should  renounce.  That  renouncement 
is,  in  Dante's  message,  his  virtue,  what  he 
"stands  for"  in  heaven.  St.  Anselm,  on  the 
other  hand,  is  merely  named.  In  his  case, 
Dante  would  appeal  to  the  current  apprecia- 
tion, which  hailed  Anselm  as  the  subtle 
reasoner  of  the  Cur  Deus  Homo, — an  apprecia- 
tion which,  I  believe,  still  holds. 

Fortunately,  indeed,  we  are  not  dependent 
solely  upon  such  positive  knowledge  of  fact. 
Behind  Dante's  symbols  and  lists  of  person- 
ages is  a  philosophical  system.  That  is,  of 
course,  what  he  means  by  calling  his  poem  a 
multiple  allegory.    So  if  we  know  his  philo- 


8  SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

sophical  system,  we  can  reasonably  expect  to 
set  the  representatives  of  its  categories  where 
in  accordance  with  generally  accepted  or 
specially  declared  appreciation  they  fit.  To 
do  this  is  at  once  the  purpose  and  the  method 
of  the  following  enquiry. 

The  present  writer,  then,  expects  to  have 
many  of  his  particular  conclusions  traversed. 
He  is  well  aware  of  the  tenuousness  of  some 
of  his  chains  of  evidence,  and  of  the  doubtful- 
ness of  his  choices  of  particular  symbolic 
interpretations.  The  chief  trouble,  however, 
lies  not  in  the  lack  of  evidence  and  authority 
for  such  interpretations,  but  in  the  bewilder- 
ing variety  of  interpretations  authorized  by 
Dante's  theological  masters.  The  writer 
feels  confident,  therefore,  that  Dante  intended 
such  things  as  are  contained  in  this  essay, 
and  that  to  seek  them  out  is  necessary  if  we 
wish  to  understand  his  great  poem  in  its  full 
range.  Let  others,  if  they  so  will,  be  content 
to  consider  merely  how  beautiful  it  is, — 
though  even  so  they  will  miss  much  of  its 
deeper  beauty. 

The  particular  symbol  presently  discussed, 
— the  "sign  in  the  heavens"  of  Ariadne's 
Crown, — proves  to  be  no  mere  incidental 
metaphorical  image,  but  one  central  to  the 


ARIADNE  S  CROWN  9 

whole  imagery,  and  therefore  to  the  whole 
conception,  of  the  Comedy.  This  is  natural; 
since  that  abstract  conception  is  clothed  and 
conveyed  most  deeply  in  symbolic  imagery, 
and  that  imagery  is  based,  as  already  said, 
upon  the  assumed  equivalence  of  God,  primal 
giver  of  the  two  life-controlling  factors  of 
intellect  and  will  perfected  in  wisdom  and 
love,  with  the  Sun,  which  centrally  radiates 
light  andUeat lessen t ial  factors  of  physical 
life  and  growth.  This  analogy  appears 
everywhere.  The  Bible  becomes  the  Sun, 
whose  light-ray  bred  Dominic  and  his  dis- 
ciples, wrhose  heat-ray  Francis  and  his.  The 
"three  blessed  ladies," — Mary,  Lucia,  Bea- 
trice,— who  conspire  to  save  Dante  repeat 
the  same  triad.  From  Mary's  divinity  as 
"Sun,"  comes  the  light-ray  of  spiritual  insight, 
which  is  St.  Lucia,  and  the  heat-ray  of  love, 
which  is  Beatrice.  And  the  focussing  of  these 
two  upon  one  soul  produces  that  intelletto 
d'amore  which  is  the  perfection  of  human 
nature  and  the  faculty  in  common  of  angels 
and  the  blest.  Again,  on  the  highest  plane,  the 
same  relationship  is  repeated  for  the  Trinity. 
As  Lucia  proceeds  from  Mary,  carrying  her 
light,  and  Beatrice  proceeds  from  them  both, 
carrying  her  heat  of  love,  so  the  Son,  the  Lo- 


10       SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

gos,  proceeds  from  the  Father  as  the  "Light  of 
the  world,"  and  the  Holy  Spirit  from  them 
both  as  the  principle  of  burning  love.10 
Dante's  own  salvation  is  explained  by  St. 
Thomas  in  terms  of  this  metaphor: 

"Lo  raggio  della  grazia,  onde  s'accende 
Verace  amore,  e  che  poi  cresce  amando 
Multiplicato,  in  te  tanto  risplende 
Che  ti  conduce  su  per  quella  scala 
U'senza  risalir  nessun  discende."  u 

At  first  mediately  through  the  "three  blessed 
ladies"  and  their  various  agents  and  instru- 
ments, at  last  Dante's  sight  is  strengthened  to 
receive  the  direct  ray  of  the  divine  Sun  itself.12 
In  this  "fulgore"  not  only  is  Dante  illumined 

10  Cf.  Albert.  Mag.,  De.  Laud.  b.  Mar.  Virg.  XII,  v,  i,  2: 
"Per  solem  saepius  interpretatur  Pater,  per  radium  velsplen- 
doremsolis  Filius  qui  est  splendor  gloriae  etfigura  Patris,per 
calorem  Spiritus  sanctus  .  .  .  Spiritus  enim  sanctus  est 
amor  Patris  et  Filii.  Sicut  autem  radius  vel  splendor  solis, 
ex  quo  sol  fuit,  processit  a  sole  et  procedit  semperque 
procedet :  sic  Filius  aeternaliter  procedit  a  Patre.  Et  sicut 
calor  aeternaliter  procedit  tarn  a  sole  quam  a  radio:  sic 
Spiritus  sanctus  ab  utroque,  id  est  Filio  et  Patre  .  .  . 
Aliter:  In  sole  quia  circuit  mundi  machinam,  signatur 
Patris  potentia:  in  splendore  qui  totum  illuminat,  Filii 
sapientia:  in  fervore  qui  totum  calefacit,  Spiritus  sancti 
benevolentia." 

11  Par.  x,  83-87.  Cf.  Purg.  xv,  64-73;  Par.  v,  7-9;  xxi, 
83-87. 

12  Par.  xxxiii,  140-141. 


ARIADNE  S  CROWN  II 

as  to  God's  essence,  so  achieving  in  the  in- 
stant of  rapture  that  perfect  understanding  of 
the  mystery  of  the  Trinity  which  is  the  eter- 
nal reward  of  the  doctors  of  his  heaven  of  the 
Sun,  but  also  receives  the  chrism  of  apostle- 
ship  by  which,  like  his  model  the  Apostle 
Paul,  he  will  himself  pass  on  the  light  to 
others.  There  will  be  fulfilled  the  promise 
symbolized  in  the  "apostolic  light"  of  St. 
Peter  thrice  encircling  him,13  as  this  symbol 
is  in  effect  a  variant  of  the  threefold  crowning 
by  the  spirits  of  the  Sun.  For  St.  Peter  indi- 
vidually, as  these  spirits  collectively,  repre- 
sents the  teaching  and  authority  of  the 
Church. 

So  Dante  himself  becomes  a  "sun"  to  light 
the  minds  and  kindle  the  hearts  of  his  fellow- 
men,  or — to  pass  to  the  equivalent  biblical 
image — a  "chosen  vessel"  u  filled  with  wis- 
dom, "bread  of  angels,"  a  pot  of  manna  of 
true  faith  deposited  in  the  ark  of  the  cove- 
nant embodied  in  the  Church. 

Thus  the  symbolic  implications  and  ana- 
logues of  the  radiant  Sun  extend  themselves 
into  all  parts  and  personages  of  the  poem. 
The  maze  of  their  intricate  correspondences 

13  Par.  xxiv,  151-154. 

14  Cf.  Inf.  ii,  28;  Par.  i,  14. 


12        SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

has  hardly  been  explored,  yet  by  exploring  it 
we  can,  I  think,  attain  to  the  very  center  of 
Dante's  meaning  and  also  by  the  way  chart 
accurately  the  bearings  of  particular  mean- 
ings hitherto  obscure.  A  good  instance  in 
point  is  the  perplexing  glorification  of  the 
heretic  Sigier  of  Brabant.15  Indeed,  the  diffi- 
culty of  such  investigation  is  to  avoid  being 
drawn  on  into  a  commentary  on  the  whole 
poem  when  the  investigator  would  fain  con- 
centrate on  a  particular  part  of  it.  Corre- 
spondence calls  to  correspondence.  Any  path 
entered  upon  opens  into  innumerable  others, 
and  each  of  these  into  as  many  more. 

THE  TRIPLE  CROWN 

The  two  poles  of  the  Christian  heaven  are 
the  vision  of  God  and  the  provision  of  God. 
The  terms  are  manifestly  ambiguous.  They 
may  mean,  on  the  one  hand,  God's  vision  of, 
and  provision  for,  man;  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  man's  vision  of,  and  provision  towards, 
God.  God's  vision  and  provision — or  provi- 
dence^— are  both  immediate  and  eternal.  The 
execution  of  his  plan,  however,  is  temporal,  is 
indeed  the  course  of  the  world  in  time.16 

15  See  below,  pp.  48  et  seq. 

16  St.  Thomas,  Summa  Theol.  I,  xxii,  1. 


ARIADNE  S  CROWN  1 3 

Man's  vision  of  God  may  be  either  imme- 
diate and  eternal,  or  mediate  and  temporal. 
Immediate  and  eternal  vision  of  God  is  for 
man  the  reward  of  salvation  in  the  future  life, 
when  his  soul  shall  have  been  separated  from 
the  earthly  body,  but — after  the  Judgment- 
Day — reclothed  with  the  heavenly  and  glori- 
fied body.  In  that  beatific  vision,  he  shall,  in 
St.  Paul's  phrase,  see  God  "face  to  face,"  17 
or,  in  theological  phrase,  know  God  in  his 
essence.  The  intellectual  vision  is  the  essen- 
tial reward.  Effect  of  it  upon  man's  will,  in 
the  disposition  of  perfect  charity,  perfect 
love  of  God,  is  the  accidental  reward.18 
The  doubly  perfect  conjunction  of  the  soul 
with  God  in  intellect  and  will  is  called  the 
golden  crown  {corona  aurea) — or  simply  aurea 
— of  the  blest,  and  signifies  participation  in 
God's  "royal  power"  and  "a  certain  perfection 
by  reason  of  its  circular  form."  Also,  certain 
chosen  ones  shall  receive  for  especially  meri- 
torious works  a  second  crown,  the  aureole.19 
And  the  aureole  is  due  above  all  to  virgins, 
victorious  over  the  flesh,  martyrs,  victorious 
over  the  world,  doctors,  who  by  preaching  the 

17 1  Cor.  xiii,  12. 

18  Cf.  Par.  xxxiii,  142-145. 

19  St.  Thomas,  IV  Sent,  xlix,  5,  1,  c. 


14       SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

faith  are  victorious  over  the  devil.20  All  three 
are  teachers, — by  example  if  not  by  precept. 

The  two  crowns,  aurea  and  aureole,  really 
but  express  the  spiritual  joy  of  the  blest,21 
"yet  by  a  certain  redundance  they  shine  also 
in  the  body."  And  this  refulgence  of  the 
resurrected  body  may  be  conceived  as  a  dis- 
tinct aureole.22  Until  the  Judgment-Day 
however,  this  aureole  of  the  glorified  body 
must  remain  for  the  blest  the  one  unfulfilled 
desire.23 

In  Dante's  heaven  of  the  Sun,  the  twenty- 
four  blessed  spirits  form  of  themselves  two 
crowns,24  signifying  the  aurea  and  aureole 
already  theirs.  But  presently,  as  if  in  confir- 
mation of  the  assurance  by  one  of  them,  Solo- 
mon, that  their  "desire  of  their  bodies  dead" 
shall  be  fulfilled,  a  third  crown  forms  "out- 

20  lb.  xlix,  5,  3,  sol.  3,  i m.  All  in  Dante's  heaven  of  the 
Sun  are  declared  "victorious" — Par.  x,  64. 

21  St.  Thomas,  5.  T.  Ill,  xcvi,  2,  c:  "...  aurea  con- 
sistit  in  gaudio,  quod  habetur  de  Deo;  aureola  vero  in 
gaudio,  quod  habetur  de  operum  perfectione." 

22  St.  Thomas,  IV  Sent,  xlix,  5,  1,  c:  ".  .  .  sicut  supra 
beatitudinem  animae  gloria  corporis  adjungitur,  unde  et 
ipsa  gloria  corporis  interdum  aureola  nominatur." 

23  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  I— II,  lxvii,  4,  3m.  Cf.  Par.  xxv, 
91-96. 

24  Par.  xii,  1  et  seq. 


ariadne's  crown  15 

side"  the  other  two,  but  equal  in  radiance.25 
It  is  fitly  "outside"  26  the  other  two,  for  they 
signify  the  joy  in  the  soul,  whereas  it  signifies 
the  glory  of  the  new  body  that  reclothes  the 
soul.  The  spirits  cannot  themselves  form  it, 
for  they  do  not  yet  possess  it.  It  is  formed  by 
"new  subsistences,"  who  are  also  called  "the 
veritable  sparkling  of  the  Holy  Spirit."27 
These  subsistences  must  be  angels.  Them 
only  the  divine  light  irradiates  without 
mediation,  so  making  them  its  direct  {recta), 
or  "veritable  sparkling." 28  They  are  the 
messengers  of  the  Holy  Spirit;  and  their 
business  it  will  be  on  the  Judgment-Day 
miraculously  to  collect  from  the  grave  dust 
for  the  remaking  of  the  bodies  of  the  blest.29 
Moreover  their  own  reward  of  joy  will  be 
increased  by  such   benefit  to  men.30     And 

25  Par.  xiv,  67:  "di  chiarezza  pari."  Cf.  St.  Thomas, 
5.  T.  Ill  (Suppl.),  xcvi,  1,  c. 

26  "Di  fuor"— Par.  xiv,  75. 

27  lb.  73-78. 

28  Cf.  Conv.  Ill,  xiv,  35-37. 

29  St.  Thomas,  IV,  Sent,  xliii,  1,  2,  sol.  3:  ".  .  .  in 
omnibus  quae  corporaliter  a  Deo  fiunt,  utitur  Deus  minis- 
terio  Angelorum.  In  resurrectione  autem  est  aliquid 
ad  transmutationem  corporum  pertinens,  scilicet  collectio 
cinerum,  et  eorum  praeparatio  ad  reparationem  humani 
corporis;  unde  quantum  ad  hoc  in  resurrectione  utetur 
Deus  ministerio  Angelorum." 

30  lb.  xii,  2,  1,2,  c. 


1 6       SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

Dante  also  himself  makes  a  more  subtle 
association.  As  "angelic  love"  in  Gabriel 31 
announced  the  incarnation  of  Christ  in  the 
corruptible  body,  efficient  cause  of  salvation, 
so  now  the  third  crown  of  angels  announces 
symbolically  the  reincarnation  of  man  in  the 
incorruptible  body,  final  causes — or  ultimate 
reward — of  salvation;  and  to  point  this 
implied  association  Dante  is  at  pains  to  note 
likeness  between  the  "modest  voice"  of  Solo- 
mon promising  the  new  incarnation  of  the 
blessed  spirits,  and  the  voice  of  "the  angel  to 
Mary."  32 

THE  HEAVEN  OF  PRUDENCE 

To  merit  reward  of  salvation  man  must 
make  provision  towards  it,  that  is,  towards 
union  with  God.  But  to  make  provision,  he 
must  have  provision — that  is,  prevision  or 
foreknowledge — of  God;  since  he  cannot 
make  provision  towards  an  end  unless  he 
knows  what  that  end  is.  In  the  beginning 
man  had  adequate  foreknowledge  of  God. 
Indeed,  Adam  in  the  state  of  innocence  had 
more  intimate  knowledge  of  God  than  any 
later  man  on  earth.33   But  by  the  blinding  of 

31  Par.  xxiii,  103. 

32  Par.  xiv,  34-36. 

33  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  I,  xciv,  1. 


ARIADNE  S  CROWN  1 7 

original  sin  he  and  his  descendants  lost  sight 
of  God,  and  by  natural  reason  could  not  again 
find  him  out.  So  Virgil  to  Dante: 

"Matto  e  chi  spera  che  nostra  ragione 
Possa  trascorrer  la  infinita  via 
Che  tiene  una  sostanza  in  tre  persone. 

State  contenti,  umana  gente,  al  quia; 
Che  se  potuto  aveste  veder  tutto, 
Mestier  non  era  partorir  Maria." 34 

By  the  "parturition  of  Mary,"  God  revealed 
himself  again  to  man.  The  Word  that  was 
with  God,  and  was  God,  was  spoken  through 
Christ.  Faith  in  Christ  is  grace  to  foreknow 
God.  And  foreknowledge  of  his  perfection 
induces  the  love  of  him  which  is  charity. 
Love  is  the  desire  to  be  united  with  the  object 
loved,  and  since  faith  gives  assurance  of  the 
possibility  of  union  with  God,  there  springs 
from  faith  and  charity,  hope.35 

God's  self-revelation  in  the  Incarnation  is 
the  supreme  executive  act  in  time  of  divine 
Providence.  By  it  saving  grace,  forfeited  by 
Adam's  lapse,  was  regiven  to  man.  From  it 
flowed  the  three  theological  virtues — faith, 
hope,  and  charity, — which  move  directly  to 

34  Purg.  iii,  34-39- 

35  Cf.  Purg.  xxix,  127-128.  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  II— II, 
xvii,  7-8. 


1 8        SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

the  end  of  salvation,  or  union  with  God.  By 
these  theological  virtues  the  moral  virtues, 
reducible  to  four  cardinal — prudence,  forti- 
tude, justice,  temperance, — are  directed  to 
that  end.  Of  these  cardinal  virtues,  prudence 
is  directive  in  respect  to  the  things  which 
make  towards  that  end  (ea  quae  sunt  ad 
finem).36  In  other  words,  prudence,  derived 
in  name  from  providence,37  determines  the 
ways  and  means  by  which  man's  plan  of  living 
is  conformed  to  the  plan  of  Providence.  And 
as  thus  illumining  the  way  of  right  living,  of 
rectitude,  prudence  fitly  is  associated  with 
the  Sun, 

"pianeta 
Che  mena  dritto  altrui  per  ogni  calle" 38 

to  the  Mount  of  Rectitude,  il  dilettoso 
tnonte.39  Like  the  Sun,  prudence  is  "padre 
d'ogni  mortal  vita" 40  and — significantly  in 
connection  with  the  constellation  of  the 
Carro,  or  Wain,  presently  to  be  discussed — 
"il  carro  delta  luce"  41   Again,  the  truly  pru- 

36  St.  Thomas,  5.  T.  II— II,  xlvii,  6. 

37  lb.  xlix,  6,  im. 

38  Inf.  i,  17-19. 

39  lb.  77. 

40  Par.  xxii,  16. 

41  Purg.  iv,  59. 


ARIADNE  S  CROWN  1 9 

dent  man  is  God's  most  perfect  instrument  in 
the  temporal  execution  of  his  divine  plan, 
since  the  prudent  man  has  most  perfect  pro- 
vision of  ways  and  means  towards  the  ap- 
pointed end.42  Proportionally,  therefore,  in 
function  the  prudent  man  is  most  like  God. 
And  as  God  is  the  "Sun  of  the  angels," 43 
so  the  prudent  man  may  be  regarded  as  the 
Sun  of  men.  Again,  as  the  Sun  is 

"Lo  ministro  maggior  della  natura 

Che  del  valor  del  ciel  il  mondo  imprenta, 
E  col  suo  lume  il  tempo  ne  misura,"  u 

so  the  greatest  minister  of  human  nature  is  the 
prudent  man  who  imprints  upon  the  world  the 
worth  of  heaven,  and  with  his  light  measures 
for  men  the  proper  disposition  of  their  time.45 
As  in  a  mirror  the  prudent  man  reflects  God.46 

42  St.  Thomas,  5.  T.  II— II,  clxxxviii,  7,  im:  ".  .  .  in- 
strumentum  non  propter  se  quaeritur,  sed  propter  finem, 
non  tanto  aliquid  fit  melius,  quanto  magis  est  instrumen- 
tum,  sed  quanto  est  magis  fini  proportionatum." 

43  Par.  x,  53. 

44  Par.  x,  27  -29. 

45  This  function  is  implied  in  the  image  of  the  clock- wheel 
(orologio)  of  Par.  x,  139-148.   See  below,  p.  69. 

46  St.  Thomas,  5.  T.  II— II,  clxxiii,  1,  c:  ".  .  .  illus- 
tratio  mentis  propheticae  potest  dici  speculum  aeternitatis, 
quasi  repraesentans  Dei  praescientiam,  qui  in  sua  aeterni- 
tate  omnia  praesentia liter  videt." 


20       SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

Fittingly,  therefore,  those  in  the  heaven  of 
Prudence  are  called  "suns."47 

Dante  is  justified,  then,  in  associating  the 
virtue  of  prudence  with  the  heaven  of  the 
Sun.  Prudence  determines  man's  way;  char- 
ity moves  him  on  the  way;  grace  makes  his 
going  in  the  way  at  all  possible.  So  the  fac- 
tors of  salvation  are  reducible  to  these  three, 
— divine    grace,     charity,     and    prudence.48 

Prudence  looks  not  directly  to  the  end,  but 
to  the  things  which  make  towards  the  end.  So 
it  moves  to  the  end  mediately  and  indi- 
rectly. Its  line  of  approach  is  not  rectilinear 
(motus  rectus),  but  oblique  (motus  obliquus) 
or  spiral.  In  this,  again,  prudence  has  analogy 
with  the  Sun,  the  beneficent  influence  of 
which  depends,  as  Dante  explains  by  way  of 
introduction  to  the  heaven  of  Prudence,49  on 

47  Par.  x,  76. 

48  Cf.  St.  Thomas,  De  veritale,  XXVII,  v,  5m:  ".  .  . 
prudentia  dicitur  forma  omnium  virtutum  moralium. 
Actus  autem  virtutis  sic  constitutus  in  medio,  est  quasi 
materialis  respectu  ordinis  in  finem  ultimum,  qui  quidem 
ordo  apponitur  actui  virtutis  ex  imperio  caritatis;  et  sic 
caritas  dicitur  esse  forma  omnium  aliarum  virtutum. 
Ulterius  vero  efficaciam  merendi  adhibet  gratia;  nullus 
enim  operum  nostrorum  valor  reputatur  dignus  aeternae 
gloriae,  nisi  praesupposita  acceptatione  divina;  et  sic 
gratia  dicitur  esse  forma  et  caritatis  et  aliarum  virtutum." 

49  Par.  x,  13-24,  27-33. 


ariadne's  crown  21 

the  obliqueness  of  the  ecliptic,  in  which  the 
Sun's  actual  path  describes  a  spiral.  Dante's 
own  ascent  to  the  Empyrean  so  describes  a 
long  spiral  from  the  point  of  his  entering 
Hell.50  And  in  the  heaven  of  the  Sun  itself 
he  points  the  analogy.  The  Sun  was  ascend- 
ing in  its  spirals,  he  says, — "Ed  io  era  con 
lui." 51  There  are  indeed  moments  when 
Dante's  spiral  course  changes  to  vertically 
rectilinear,  or  to  circular  in  the  same  plane. 
But  these  exceptions  only  reenforce  the  point. 
By  Lucia  he  is  carried  in  sleep  straight  up  to 
Purgatory  Gate.52  By  Beatrice  he  is  virtually 
lifted  up  the  Ladder  in  the  heaven  of  the 
contemplatives.53  But  obviously,  these 
straight  upward  ascents  are  by  supernatural 
aid.  x\gain,  he  circles  with  the  heavenly 
spheres  while  in  them,  and  finally  around  the 
luminous  point  which  is  God.54  This  circular 

50  To  be  exact,  the  line  of  his  movement  about  the 
superimposed  cones  of  Hell  and  Purgatory  is  helical.  It 
should  be  observed  that  he  dojes  not  ever  change  direction 
of  approach.  In  other  words,  the  axis  of  the  whole  spiral 
is  rectilinear. 

51  Par.  x,  28-34. 

52  Purg.  ix,  52-57. 

53  Par.  xxii,  100-105. 

54  Cf.  Par.  xviii,  61-62;  xxxiii,  142-145. 


22       SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

motion  symbolizes  attainment.55  The  point 
is  that  man  cannot  know  God  directly,  any 
more  than  he  can  look  at  the  Sun  directly; 
therefore  he  must  by  indirection  find  direc- 
tion out.  And  the  virtue  which  so  does  is 
prudence. 

The  most  intimate  reflection  of  God  for 
mankind  was  in  Christ,  the  Word  incarnate. 
After  Christ's  Ascension,  the  Word  was  left 
with  the  Church,  as  recorded  in  the  Scrip- 
tures and  as  interpreted  and  administered  by 
Peter  and  his  successors.  Salvation  lies  in 
obedience  to  these  authorities: 

"Avete  il  vecchio  e  il  nuovo  Testamento, 
E  il  pastor  della  Chiesa  che  vi  guida : 
Questo  vi  basti  a  vostro  salvamento." 56 

God  in  his  mercy,  however,  has  given  special 
grace  to  certain  men  further  to  advance  the 
faith  by  preaching  and  example.  So  St. 
Thomas  in  his  Summa,  after  defining  virtues 
and  vices  affecting  all  men  in  common,  dis- 
cusses those  affecting  specifically  these  God- 
gifted  ones.57  His  argument  controls,  I  think, 
the  Paradise. 

55  Cf.  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  II -II,  clxxix,  i,  3m;  clxxx,  6. 

66  Par.  v,  76-78. 

57  1 1 — II,  clxxi  et  seq. 


ARIADNE  S  CROWN  23 

PLAN  OF  THE  PARADISE 

Like  the  Purgatory,  the  Paradise  is  divided 
into  three  parts,  so  expressing  the  Trinity. 
The  first  three  planetary  heavens,  though 
lighted  by  the  Sun,  are  still  within  the  shadow 
of  the  earth.  The  personages  associated  with 
them  played  their  earthly  parts  under  the 
shadow  of  some  infirmity  of  will.  Picarda's 
inconstancy  was  an  act  of  imprudence,  argu- 
ing imperfect  provision — or  prevision — of  the 
right  way.58  In  the  last  analysis,  she  showed 
herself  weak  of  faith.  Justinian  did  good 
works  in  hope  of  temporal  glory,  sinning  in 
so  far  against  the  hope  of  eternal  glory.59 
Again,  true  love,  or  charity,  is  the  love  of 
God.  Cunizza  mixed  with  charity  sensual 
love,  so  showing  defect  of  charity. 

Thus  the  spirits  of  the  three  lowest  heav- 
ens— Moon,  Mercury,  Venus — are  imperfect 
in  faith  or  in  hope  or  in  charity,  the  holy 
virtues  which  lead  directly  to  salvation. 
Mercifully  saved  in  spite  of  weakness,  they 
constitute  the  proletariat  of  heaven,  humble 
subjects  in  the  kingdom  of  God.   Manifestly, 

58  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  II — II,  liii,  5:  ".  .  .  dicitur  aliquis 
esse  inconstans,  quod  ratio  deficit  in  praecipiendo  ea, 
quae  sunt  consiliata,  et  judicata." 

59  Cf.  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  II — II,  cxxxii,  1-2. 


24       SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

the  vast  majority  of  the  human  race,  so  far  as 
it  attains  salvation  at  all,  would  be  with 
them. 

Balancing  these  three  lowest  heavens  are 
the  three  highest — Starry,  Crystalline,  Empy- 
rean,— associated  respectively  with  the  tri- 
umph of  the  whole  congregation  of  the 
faithful,  of  the  angels,  and  of  the  perfected 
providence  of  God  in  reuniting  to  himself 
errant  man.  This  ultimate  reunion,  repre- 
sented by  Dante's  rapture,  is  through  charity; 
its  consummation  has  been  the  hope  of  the 
angels,  primary  agents  thereof;  and  the  way 
and  means  of  consummation  were  found 
through  the  faith  of  which  the  Church  Mili- 
tant is  repository.  Thus  the  last  division  of 
the  Paradise  also  reflects  the  three  holy  vir- 
tues, but  in  their  perfection. 

Between  are  the  four  planetary  heavens 
beyond  the  shadow  of  the  earth, — Sun,  Mars, 
Jupiter,  Saturn.  Physically,  the  Sun  lights 
them  all.  Morally,  since  they  signify  perfec- 
tion of  the  four  cardinal  virtues,  of  these  four 
prudence  is  light-giver  to  the  rest.  All  four 
together  represent  all  there  is  on  earth  of  guid- 
ance of  man  by  man;  and  by  prudence  all 
guidance  is  guided.  For  prudence  in  the  large 
sense  applies  to  all  human  cognition,  specula- 


ARIADNE  S  CROWN  25 

tive  as  well  as  practical.60  Hence  the  spirits 
of  the  Sun  should  represent  severally  pru- 
dence in  its  various  aspects  or  categories.61 

THE  PROPHETS  OF  THE  SUN 

Prudence  guides — that  is,  counsels,  judges, 
commands — in  those  things  which  make  for 
the  end,  cognition  of  God.62  Considered  in  its 
entirety  the  operation  of  prudence  exceeds 
man's  natural  faculty.  For  to  guide  to  an 
end,  one  must  know  the  end;  and  knowledge 
of  the  end,  which  is  God,  is  not  in  human 
power  as  such.  So  God  has  graciously  given 
certain  men  special  insights,  or  illuminations, 
above  the  normal.  This  "grace  freely  given" 
(gratia  gratis  data)  need  not  be  possessed  by 
them  habitually,63  and  is  independent  of  their 
merit.64  Those  who  receive  it  may  even  lack 
grace  to  be  saved  themselves  (gratia  gratum 
faciens).  But  in  so  far  as  the  foresight,  or  far- 
sight, of  prudence  is  so  divinely  illumined,  it 

60  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  II— II,  xlvii,  2,  2m. 

61  Cf.  ib.  clxxi,  1,  4m:  ".  .  .  Dominus  omnia  quae  sunt 
necessaria  ad  instructionem  fidelis  populi,  revelat  Prophe- 
tis;  non  tamen  omnia  omnibus,  sed  quaedam  uni,  quaedam 
alii." 

62  Ib.  xlvii,  8. 

63  Ib.  clxxi,  2,  c. 

64  Ib.  clxxii,  3,  c. 


26        SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

becomes  prophecy.  Indeed,  according  to 
thirteenth  century  etymology,  prudence  and 
prophecy  mean  the  same  thing,  to  wit,  pro- 
culvidens,  farseeing.65  And  in  fact,  both  kinds 
of  farseeing  are  really  foreseeing,  the  one  of 
future  events  in  time,  the  other  of  the  future 
event  beyond  time,  or  beatitude. 

The  gift  of  prophecy  expresses  itself  in  some 
particular  act,  or  acts,  of  revelation.  The 
prophet  is  not  always  inspired.  Nathan,  re- 
marks St.  Thomas,  advised  David  to  build 
the  temple  at  once;  later  forbade  him.  Only 
in  the  prohibition  did  the  Holy  Spirit  speak 
through  him.66  On  the  other  hand,  wisdom 
and  knowledge  may  also  be  habitually  pos- 
sessed as  gifts  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  in  such 
degree  that  all,  or  most,  of  the  revelations  of 
their  possessor  have  the  quality  of  true  pro- 
phecy.67 Preeminently,  this  "infused"  wis- 
dom as  to  things  divine  and'  "infused"  knowl- 
edge as  to  things  human  was  given  to  Solo- 
mon; who  therefore,  for  such  divine  wisdom 
is  classed  by  St.  Thomas  with  the  apostles,68 
and  by  such  knowledge  of  the  world  and  of 

65  lb.  xlvii,  I,  c;  clxxi,  I,  c. 

66  Quol.  XII,  xxvi,  im. 

67  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  I— II,  li,  4,  c. 

68  II — II,  clxxiii,  2,  c. 


ariadne's  crown  27 

men  as  the  supreme  judge.69  To  him  also 
was  given  the  grace  of  discourse  (gratia 
sermonis),  so  that  he  wrote  as  if  by  direct 
inspiration  of  the  Holy  Spirit,70  and  in  his 
three  books  revealed  truth  to  all  men  accord- 
ing to  their  capacity:  in  Proverbs,  by  parables 
and  also  openly  to  the  young  and  the  un- 
learned, incipient  in  wisdom;  in  Ecclesiastes , 
openly  but  intimately  (proprie)  to  the  profi- 
cient ;  in  the  Song  of  Songs,  parabolically  and 
secretly  to  the  perfect.71  Finally,  Solomon 
was  divinely  anointed  king,  that  he  might 
exemplify  perfect  rule  of  a  multitude,  which  is 
the  highest  active  function  of  prudence.72 
Moreover,  his  governance  was  informed  by 
worship  of  God,  for  which  grace  must  be 
given.73  Hence  in  him  supremely  the  virtue 
of  prudence  was  raised  to  the  gift  of  prophecy. 
These  various  claims  of  Solomon  to  pru- 

69  De  veritate,  xii,  12,  c:  ".  .  .  inquantum  de  moribus 
hominum  et  naturis  rerum,  quae  naturaliter  accipimus, 
divino  instinctu  ceteris  certius  judicavit." 

70  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  II— II,  clxxiv,  2,  3. 

71  St.  Bonaventure,  In  Ecdes.,  Proem.,  ad  fin. 

72  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  II— II,  1,  1,  c:  "...  ideo  regi,  ad 
quern  pertinet  regere  civitatem,  vel  regnum,  prudentia 
competit  secundum  specialem,  et  perfectissimam  suam 
rationem." 

73  lb.  clxxii,  1,  4m:  ".  .  .  in  ordine  ad  cultum  divinum, 
ad  quern  natura  non  sufncit,  sed  requiritur  gratia." 


28        SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

dential  and  prophetic  preeminence  are  care- 
fully, if  briefly,  indicated  by  Dante.  Moved 
by  charity  to  prophesy  charity,  Solomon 
wrote  the  Song  of  Songs.  And  this  he  wrote  as 
Jedidiah,  or  Dilectus,  the  Beloved.74  So,  for 
this  spirit  of  charity,  St.  Thomas  tells  Dante 
that  Solomon, 

"La  quinta  luce,  ch'e  tra  noi  piu  bella, 
Spira  di  tale  amor  che  tutto  il  mondo 
Laggiu  ne  gola  di  saper  novella."  75 

St.  Thomas  also  declares  him  supreme  by 
wisdom  "infused"  (messo),76  and  on  the  prac- 
tical side,  in  "kingly  prudence,"  "without 
second,"  even  if  Christ  be  reckoned.77  Thus 
his  light  among  the  illumined  prophets  of  the 
Sun  is  not  only  "fairest"  in  charity,  but  also 
divinest,  piu  dia,  in  wisdom.78 

Yet  to  man  may  be  given — at  least  in  mo- 
ments— a  higher  insight  into  things  divine 
and  above  sense  than  even  Solomon  had. 
This  is  cognition,  immediate  and  direct,  of 
truth  in  God.  Such  cognition  is,  indeed,  an 
habitual  possession  (habitus)  only  of  the  blest, 

74  St.  Thomas,  In  Cantic.  Canticor.,  Proem.,  med°. 
76  Par.  x,  109-111. 

76  lb.  112-114. 

77  Par.  xiii,  34-1 11. 

78  Par.  xiv,  34. 


ARIADNE  S  CROWN  29 

but  by  special  grace  it  may  be,  and  has  been, 
given  to  certain  mortals  momentarily.  So 
Moses  saw  God  personally  in  a  sensible  form, 
and  St.  Paul  saw  him  even  more  perfectly  in 
his  suprasensible  essence.  Theirs  was  the 
highest  reach  of  prophetic  inspiration.79 
And  Dante  himself,  whether  in  poetic  feign- 
ing or  by  serious  claim,  received  in  rapture 
and  by  "abundant  grace"  immediate  knowl- 
edge of  all  natural  truth  in  its  unity,80  and 
later  of  God's  essence  itself.81  Moreover  he 
received  the  prophet's  gift  to  express  some- 
what of  his  vision  for  the  edification  of 
others.82 

Two  spirits  of  the  Sun  are  credited  with 
some  participation  in  this  miraculously  per- 
fect insight :   Dionysius, 

"Che  giuso  in  carne  piu  addentro  vide 
L'angelica  natura  e  il  ministero,"  83 

and  Richard  of  St.  Victor, 

"Che  a  considerar  fu  piu  che  viro."  84 

79  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  1 1 — II,  clxxiv,  3,  c;  clxxv,  3,  1  m. 

80  Par.  xxxiii,  82-105. 

81  lb.  1 39-141.  Cf.  Par.  i,  4-9;  also  Epistle  to  Can 
Grande,  the  whole  argument  of  which  focusses  to  this 
claim. 

82  lb.  10-27. 

83  Par.  x,  116-117. 

SiPar.  x,  131-132.    Cf.  Ep.  x,  28. 


30       SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

Also,  according  to  St.  Bonaventure,  Diony- 
sius  and  Richard  preeminently  taught  the 
anagogical  sense  of  Scripture,  which  teaches 
how  is  to  be  attained  union  with  God.  Scrip- 
ture is  man's  chief  illumination,  he  says,  "be- 
cause it  leads  to  higher  things,  making  mani- 
fest those  which  are  above  reason.  Besides 
the  literal,  there  is  a  threefold  spiritual  sense 
of  Scripture:  (i)  allegorical,  teaching  what  is 
to  be  believed  concerning  divinity  and 
humanity;  (2)  moral,  teaching  how  to  live; 
(3)  anagogical,  teaching  what  is  union  with 
God.  .  .  ,.  The  first  concerns  faith;  the  sec- 
ond morals;  the  third,  the  end  of  both.  Study 
of  the  first  is  for  doctors;  of  the  second  for 
preachers;  of  the  third  for  contemplatives. 
Augustine  preeminently  taught  the  first; 
Gregory  the  second;  Dionysius  the  third. 
Anselm  follows  Augustine;  Bernard,  Gregory; 
Richard,  Dionysius.  Anselm  surpasses  in 
reasoning;  Bernard  in  preaching;  Richard  in 
contemplation.  Hugh  of  St.  Victor  follows  all 
three, — Augustine,  Gregory,  and  Diony- 
sius." 85 

St.  Bonaventure  speaks  categorically,  as 
if  no  justification  were  needed.  Such  classifi- 
cations were  current.  "Unicuique  autem  datur 

85  Opusc.  de  reductione  artium  ad  theologiam,  me°. 


ARIADNE  S  CROWN  3 1 

manifestatio  Spiritus  ad  utilitatem  .  .  .  ad 
aedificationem  Ecclesiae"  86  St.  Paul's  dictum 
gave  warrant  for  assigning  to  each  light  of  the 
Church  a  special  virtue,  a  specific  function. 
So  in  listing  Anselm  and  Hugh,  for  instance, 
among  the  great  prophesiers  of  the  faith, 
Dante  gave  no  explanation  of  their  respective 
virtues,  because  none  was  needed  by  the 
informed, — and  he  expected  only  such  to 
follow  him.87  St.  Anselm's  famous  Cur  Deus 
Homo  exactly  fits  the  category  of  allegorical 
interpretation  of  Scripture;  for  the  subject 
of  that  is,  as  St.  Bonaventure  says,  "the  eter- 
nal generation  and  incarnation  of  Christ.88 
Again,  Hugh  of  St.  Victor,  adept  in  three 
senses  of  Scripture,  may  well  fill  the  bracket 
left  vacant  by  Dante's  use  of  St.  Bernard  else- 
where in  the  Comedy.  His  most  authoritative 
work  on  the  sacraments — De  sacramentis 
Christianae  fidei — interpreted  the  moral  sense 
of  Scripture,  that  is,  the  rule  of  right  living,  of 
which  the  sacraments  are  the  sign  and  token.89 

86  /  Cor.  xii,  7;  xiv,  12. 

87  Par.  ii,  i  et  seq. 

88  Loc.  cit. 

89  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  Ill,  lxv,  I,  c:  ".  .  .  sacramenta 
Ecclesiae  ordinantur  ad  duo;  scilicet  ad  perficiendum 
hominem  in  his  quae  pertinent  ad  cultum  Dei  secundum 
religionem  christianae  vitae,  et  etiam  in  remedium  contra 
defectum  peccati." 


32        SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

Incidentally,  he  was  St.  Bernard's  intimate 
friend. 

We  have  seen  that  Solomon  fitly  rep- 
resented the  supreme  practical  function 
of  prudence,  "regal  prudenza"  or  —  in  St. 
Thomas's  phrase  —  "prudentia  regnativa.90 
But  as  there  should  be  the  right  ruler  of  men 
in  temporal  affairs,  so  should  there  be  in 
spiritual  affairs.  Some  prophet  should  ex- 
press the  right  Prelate,  prince  of  the  Church. 
Dante's  choice,  I  think,  is  clearly  implied. 

"Io  son  la  vita  di  Bonaventura 

Da  Bagnoregio,  che  nei  grandi  offici 
Sempre  posposi  la  sinistra  cura."  9I 

St.  Bonaventure  had  been  general  of  the  Fran- 
ciscan Order,  bishop,  and  cardinal.  The 
"lefthand  care"  is  temporal  interests,  whether 
his  own  or  of  the  Church.  Now  Dante's  fun- 
damental conviction,  ever  and  everywhere 
urged,  was  that  the  Church  should  discard 
temporal  interest,  temporal  power,  that 
baleful  "second  load"  now  crushing  her  into 
the    mud.92     St.     Bonaventure,    spiritually 

90  S.  T.  II-II,  xlviii,  c. 

91  Par.  xii,  127-129. 

92  Purg.  xvi,  127-129.   Cf.  Inf.  xix,  11 5-1 17;  Purg.  xxxii, 
124-160;  vi,  91-96;  De  Mon.  passim. 


ARIADNE  S  CROWN  33 

minded,  world-forgetting,  corrected  by  ex- 
ample and  teaching  the  fatal  error  of  ambi- 
tious prelates.  His  was  the  right  conception 
of  the  elder  of  the  two  guides  of  mankind, — 
the  supreme  Pontiff,  "who  according  to  things 
revealed  should  lead  the  human  race  to  eter- 
nal life."93 

Prudentia  regnativa  applies  also  to  rule 
within  the  Church.  Three  things,  says  St. 
Thomas,  are  required  of  a  prelate:  to  govern 
his  flock,  to  suffer  for  it,  to  cast  out  black 
sheep.94  With  one  other  spirit  Dante  names 
his  ecclesiastical  office,  namely,  "U  metropo- 
litano  Crisostomo"9'0  St.  John  Chrysostom, 
Metropolitan  of  Constantinople,  was  sainted 
for  having  so  well  fulfilled  these  require- 
ments.96 Also,  for  his  prophetic  gift  of  elo- 
quence (gratia  sermonis)  he  was  called  Chry- 
sostom, "golden-mouth." 

Immediately  subordinate  and  auxiliary  to 
prudentia  regnativa  is  prudentia  politica,  of 
which  the  principal  part  is  legispositiva,  the 
formulating  and  codifying  of  law.  Gratian  so 
well  accomplished  this  task  for  Canon,   or 

93  De  Mon.  Ill,  xvi,  75-79. 

94  In  Joan,  x,  3. 

95  Par.  xii,  136-137. 

96  Brev.  Roman,  ad  27  Jan.;  also  Aurea  Legenda,  cap. 
xxxiv. 


34        SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

ecclesiastical,  law,  that  his  Decretum  pleased 
Heaven  97 — and  Dante.  For  it  effectively  de- 
marked  the  jurisdictions  of  Church  and 
State,  and  so  served  the  same  reform  as  St. 
Bonaventure. 

The  Church  Militant  is,  as  the  term  im- 
plies, not  only  a  congregation  of  the  faithful, 
but  also  an  army  against  the  unfaithful,  the 
infidel.98  Regulative  of  a  multitude  mobilized 
"for  combat"  is  prudentia  militaris.  It  is  pru- 
dence directive  not  of  the  whole  of  life,  but  to 
a  certain  need.99  Physical  warfare  against 
the  enemies  of  the  Cross  Dante  represents  in 
Mars,  the  heaven  of  Fortitude.  But  intel- 
lectual warfare — defence  of  the  faith — belongs 
to  the  prophets.  Supreme  defender  of  the 
faith  was  St.  Dominic, 

Tamoroso  drudo 
Delia  fede  cristiana,  il  santo  atleta 
Benigno  ai  suoi,  ed  ai  nemici  crudo,"  10° 

and  so  conceived  as  the  left-wheel  of  the  war- 
chariot  (biga), 

"In  che  la  santa  Chiesa  si  difese 
E  vinse  in  campo  la  sua  civil  briga." 101 

97  Par.  x,  103-105. 

98  Cf.  Par.  xii,  37:  Tesercito  di  Cristo." 

99  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  II— II,  xlviii,  c. 

100  Par.  xii,  55"57- 

101  lb.  107-108. 


ARIADNE  S  CROWN  35 

His  manifest  successor  is  the  Dominican  St. 
Thomas  Aquinas,  author  of  the  Summa 
catholica  contra  gentiles.™2 

St.  Thomas  is  a  defender  of  the  Christian 
faith.  Another,  Paulus  Orosius,  defended 
Christianity  as  an  institution.  His  Histori- 
arurn  adversus  paganos  libri  vii  supplemented 
St.  Augustine's  De  civitate  Dei  in  rebutting 
pagan  accusations  that  the  establishment  of 
the  Christian  state  caused  the  fall  of  the 
Roman  state. 

Prudence  has  jurisdiction  not  only  over  all 
men  collectively,  but  also  over  organized 
groups  such  as  households  and  families,  and 
over  individuals.  Prudence  directing  house- 
holds and  families  is  called  prudentia  oecono- 
rnica;  prudence  directing  individuals,  pru- 
dentia monastica.103  Religious  orders  are  con- 
ceived as  families.104  Rabanus  Maurus  was 
for  twenty  years,  822  to  842,  abbot  of  the 

102  In  Dante's  time,  St.  Thomas  appears  to  have  been 
chiefly  famous  as  the  author  of  this  work.  It  is  the  only 
work  of  his  Dante  ever  mentions  by  title.  As  to  positive 
doctrine,  St.  Thomas  humbly  calls  himself  the  pupil  of 
Albertus — Par.  x,  98.  In  any  case,  Dante  uses  historical 
personages  to  make  his  points.  The  Paradise  is  not  a 
literary  critique. 

103  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  II— II,  xlviii,  c. 

104  Cf.  Par.  xi,  86;xii,  115. 


2,6       SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

great  Benedictine  monastery  at  Fulda,  made 
its  school  celebrated  throughout  Europe,  and 
wrote  the  De  institutione  clericum — reputed 
his  chief  work.  He  so  satisfactorily  repre- 
sents prudentia  oeconontica. 

Prudentia  monastica  is  directive  of  the 
private  individual,  whether  layman  or  cleric. 
For  the  laity,  both  for  precept  in  the  De  con- 
solatione,  and  for  example  of  the  virtue  of 
fortitude,  for  which  he  was  canonized  as 
martyr,  Dante  could  name  no  one  more 
representative  than  Boethius,  St.  Severinus, 

"L'anima  santa  che  il  mondo  fallace 
Fa  manifesto  a  chi  di  lei  ben  ode .    .    . 

ed  essa  da  martiro 
E  da  esilio  venne  a  questa  pace."  105 

For  prudentia  monastica  in  the  narrower  and 
derived  sense — that  is,  as  applying  to  indi- 
viduals, not  in  authority,  in  the  monastic 
orders, — he  cites  two  Franciscan  friars,— 
Illuminato  and  Augustino, 

"Che  fur  dei  primi  scalzi  poverelli 
Che  nel  capestro  a  Dio  si  fero  amici."  106 

The  primary  function  of  prudence  is  counsel. 
Christ  is  the  supreme  counsellor,   and  his 

105  Par.  x,  125-126,  128-129. 
1('6  Par.  xii,  131-132. 


ariadne's  crown  37 

counsels  are  reducible  to  three, — poverty, 
chastity,  obedience.107  Self-dedication  after 
these  counsels  to  imitation  of  Christ  is  the 
perfection  of  the  religious  life.  And  this  rule 
of  life  was  most  perfectly  ordered  and  lived 
by  St.  Francis, — a  second  Sun  after  Christ, 
illumining  and  warming  mankind.108  Illu- 
minato  and  Augustino,  who  followed  him 
immediately,  having  shared  his  intimacy, 
would  have  therefore  an  apostolic  sanction 
like  that  of  the  apostles  themselves,  who  had 
been  with  Christ.  They  also  represent  two 
grades  of  the  religious  life.  "Per  la  sete  del 
martiro"  Illuminate  accompanied  St.  Francis 
into  Egypt  to  preach  Christ  to  the  Sultan.109 
Apostle,  preacher,  willing  martyr,  Illuminate 
exemplifies  the  highest  grade  of  religious  vo- 
cation and  prudent  counsel.  Augustino,  on 
the  other  hand,  was  the  gardener  of  the  con- 
vent.  But  though  his  service  was  humble,  his 

107  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  I— II,  cviii,  4. 

108  paTt  x^  49-54.  St.  Bonaventure,  in  ProL,  Legenda 
S.  Francisci,  uses  the  same  figure. 

109  Par.  xi,  100.  Cf.  St.  Bonaventure,  Leg.  S.  Francis., 
ix:  "Assumpto  igitur  socio  fratre,  Illuminato  nomine,  viro 
utique  luminis,  et  virtutis,  cum  iter  coepisset,  obvias 
habuit  oviculas  duas,  quibus  visis  exhilaratus  vir  sanctus, 
dixit  ad  socium:  Confide,  frater,  in  Domino,  nam  in  nobis 
evangelicum  illud  impletur:  Ecce  ego  mitto  vos  sicut  oves 
in  medio  luporum." 


38        SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

end  was  exaltedly  edifying.  In  his  last  illness, 
he  had  lost  the  power  of  speech;  when  sud- 
denly he  cried  out:  "Wait,  my  father,  wait! 
I  am  coming  with  you."  Asked  by  those  about 
him  what  he  meant,  he  replied:  "Do  you  not 
see  our  father  Francis  walking  in  heaven?" 
And  when  he  had  so  spoken,  dying,  he  re- 
joined the  master.110  But  although  thus  at 
the  end  prophetically  illumined,  he  fulfilled 
in  manual  labor  the  lowest  calling  of  the  reli- 
gious life.111 

Prudence  has  three  eyes.112  The  prudent 
man  has  "right  knowledge  of  past  things,  and 
right  understanding  of  present  things,  and 
right  provision  of  future  things."113  Of 
these  parts,  or  bases,  of  prudence,  the  princi- 
pal is  foresight;  "inasmuch  from  past  things 
remembered,  and  present  things  understood, 
we  gather  how  to  provide  for  things  future."114 
It  is  "useful"  (ad  utilitatern),  therefore,  that 
grace  be  given  to  interpret  the  revelations  of 
others    in    the    past.115     Thus    among    the 

110  Leg.  Aurea,  cxlvii. 

111  Cf.  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  II — II,  clxxxvii,  3;  clxxxviii,  6. 

112  Purg.  xxix,  132. 

113  Conv.  IV,  xxvii,  42-46.    Cf.  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  Ill,  xi, 

I,  3m- 

114  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  I,  xxii,  1,  c. 

115  lb.  II— II,  clxxiii,  2,  c. 


ARIADNE  S  CROWN  39 

prophets  of  the  Sun  there  are  three  whose 
special  mission  seems  to  have  been  such: 
Pietro  Mangiadore,  or  Petrus  Comestor, 
whose  Historia  Scholastica  is  an  interpretative 
account  of  the  Church  as  a  repository  of  reve- 
lations from  the  beginning  of  the  world  down 
to  the  times  of  the  apostles;  Bede,  whose 
famous  Historia  ecclesiastica  gentis  Anglorum 
interprets  the  Apostolic  Church  and  the  early 
propagation  of  the  faith  in  the  far  parts 
of  the  world;116  and  Peter  Lombard,  whose 
Sententiarum  libri  quatiior  is  an  interpretative 
commentary  on  the  sentences,  or  conclusions, 
of  the  Church  Fathers.  In  the  thirteenth 
century,  Peter  Lombard  was  by  no  means 
regarded  as  a  mere  compiler.  St.  Bonaven- 
ture,  for  instance,  indignantly  rejects  such  an 
estimate.  Distinguishing  between  scribe, 
compiler,  commentator,  and  author,  he  as- 
serts Peter's  title  to  be  rightly  author,  "since 
he  posits  his  own  conclusions,  and  confirms 
them  by  the  conclusions  of  the  Fathers.  .  .  . 
And  because  there  are  therein  (in  his  book) 
many  sayings  of  others,  does  not  lessen  the 
authority  of  the  Master,  but  rather  attests 

116  Dante  gives  such  a  prophetically  interpretative  his- 
tory in  outline  of  the  Roman  Empire  in  Par.  vi. 


40        SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

his  authority  and  humility."117  Dante  also 
emphasizes  the  humility  of  Peter, 

"che  con  la  poverella 
Offerse  a  Santa  Chiesa  suo  tesoro."  ll8 

In  respect  to  future  things,  inspired  pru- 
dence, or  prophecy,  has  a  threefold  degree: 
(i)  when  these  are  perceived  or  known  by 
some,  but  not  all;  (2)  when  they  are  beyond 
human  understanding,  yet  not  in  themselves 
unknowable — such  as  the  mystery  of  the 
Trinity;  (3)  when  they  are  in  themselves — 
except  for  God — unknowable — such  as  future 
contingencies.119  The  revelations  of  the  pro- 
phets of  the  Sun  hitherto  considered  are  of  the 
first  two  classes ;  but  Dante  offers  two  of  the 
third  class.  These  are  "Natan  prof  eta,"120  and 

"II  calabrese  abbate  Gioacchino, 
Di  spirito  profetico  dotato."  m 

Two  prophecies  are  recorded  of  Nathan, — one 
as  to  the  building  of  the  temple,122  the  other 
as  to  David's  guilty  love  of  Bathsheba.123 

117  I  Sent.,  Proem.,  fin. 

118  Par.  x,  107-108. 

119  St.  Thomas,  5.  T.  II -II,  clxxi,  3,  c. 

120  Par.  xii,  136. 

121  lb.  140-141. 
122 II  Sam.  vii. 
123  lb.  xii. 


ARIADNE  S  CROWN  4 1 

Both  foretold  the  consequences  of  disobedi- 
ence. The  latter  illustrates  the  transiency  of 
the  prophet's  inspiration.  Nathan  first  ad- 
vised David  to  build  the  temple,  then  forbade 
him  on  pain  of  God's  displeasure.  The  first 
time  he  spoke  for  himself,  the  second  time  in- 
spired by  God  .124  The  virtue  of  prudence  may 
be  habitual  and  immanent,  but  is  of  itself 
fallible.  Prudence  raised  by  grace  to  the  in- 
fallibility of  prophecy  is  a  transient  power.125 
The  object  of  prophecy  is  "that  which  exists 
in  the  divine  cognition  above  the  human  fac- 
ulty." A  future  event  exists  in  the  divine 
cognition  in  two  ways:  (i)  as  in  its  cause, 
(2)  as  in  God's  intention  {utfiendum  ab  ipso). 
Prophecy  as  to  the  former  is  of  "commina- 
tion;"  prophecy  as  to  the  latter  is  of  "pre- 
destination." 126  Nathan,  predicting  the  con- 
sequences of  David's  possible  disobedience, 
illustrates  comminatory  prophecy.  Joachim's 

124  St.  Thomas,  Quodlibet  XII, xxvi,  1 m:  "Aliquando  etiam 
aliqua  dicunt  a  se  ipsis;  sicut  patet  de  Nathan,  qui  con- 
suluit  David  quod  aedificaret  templum,  postea  autem  a 
Domino  reprehensus  et  quasi  retractus  prohibuit  hoc  ipsi 
David  ex  parte  Dei." 

125  Cf.  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  II— II,  clxxi,  2,  c. 

126  lb.  clxxiv,  1,  e.  Since  God  has  prescience  of  the  free 
acts  of  mankind,  prophecy  as  to  them  may  be  formally 
included  under  predestination. 


42        SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

at  least  most  noted  prophecy  was  predestina- 
tive.  In  his  Expositio  in  Apocalypsin,  he  pre- 
dicted a  third  dispensation,  revealed  in  the 
Apocalypse,  to  follow  those  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments.127  As  the  Father  revealed 
the  old  law;  the  Son  the  new  law;  so  the 
Holy  Spirit  should  reveal  its  law,  which  would 
be  above  need  of  any  disciplinary  institution 
whatever.  St.  Thomas  indeed  had  condemned 
this  teaching.128  Dante  would  also  have  re- 
jected the  anarchistic  corollary,  but  was  at 
least  sympathetic  to  the  promise  of  a  new  and 
better  era  to  come.  He  himself  predicted  a 
divinely  ordained  leader,  the  Veltro 129  or 
DXV,™  who  should  drive  off  the  Wolf  of 
greed,  and  so  recall  the  Church  to  its  proper 
spiritual  mission.  Also,  in  declaring  Francis 
and  Dominic  princes  and  captains  of  the 
Church,  the  two  wheels  of  its  chariot,131  he 
conforms  to  Joachim's  theory  of  the  rightful 
primacy  in  this  mission  of  contemplatives 
and  monks.132 

127  In  another  of  his  writings,  he  predicted  the  line  of 
future  popes. 

128  S.  T.  I— II,  cvi,  4,  2m. 

129  Inf.  i,  ioi-iii. 

130  Purg.  xxxiii,  43. 

131  Par.  xii,  31-45,  106-108. 

132  Also,  cf.  below,  pp.  69  et  seq. 


ARIADNE  S  CROWN  43 

The  third  provision  of  prudence — in  rela- 
tion to  past,  present,  and  future — is  of  present 
things.  Of  these  also  there  must  needs  be 
prophesying.133  Present  things  are  existing 
facts  of  nature  and  human  nature.  All  pro- 
phecy is  indeed  in  a  sense  of  the  present,  in 
that  it  regulates  present  thinking  or  acting  by 
things  beyond,  either  in  time  or  existence. 
But  the  regulative  principle  of  the  inspired 
interpreters  so  far  adduced  has  been  the 
Word  revealed  in  Scripture.134  But  God  also 
is  revealed  in  the  works  of  creation,  that  is,  in 
corporeal  things.  These  are  the  subject  mat- 
ter of  Physics,  to  which  all  demonstrative 
sciences  are  subordinate.135  Physics  in  turn  is 
subordinated  to  Metaphysics,  in  that  the 
latter  considers  Being  in  itself,  the  former 
Being  as  sensibly  known.136  Supreme  master 
of  the  double  science  of  Being,  as  interpreted 

1S3  Cf.  St.  Gregory:  "Aliquando  spiritus  prophetiae 
praesenti  tangit  animum  prophetantis,  et  ex  futuro 
nequaquam  tangit;  aliquando  autem  ex  praesenti  non  tan- 
git, et  ex  futuro  tangit."  Quoted  by  St.  Thomas,  5.  T. 
1 1 — 1 1,  clxxi,  4,  b. 

134  Cf.  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  I,  lxxix,  9,  c. 

135  lb.  II-II,  xlviii,  c. 

136  St.  Thomas,  De  nat.  generis,  Opusc.  XLII,  vi,  prin°: 
"...  naturalis  scientia,  quae  applicat  naturam  entis  ad 
naturam  sensibilem,  est  sub  Metaphysica,  quae  considerat 
de  ente  absolute." 


44       SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

by  reason,  was  Aristotle,  "il  maestro' di  lor  che 
sanno"lzl  It  had  been  the  mission  of  Albertus 
Magnus,  doctor  universalis,  to  interpret  Aris- 
totle's Physics  and  Metaphysics,  his  doctrine 
of  Being,  in  the  light,  supernaturally  given,  of 
true  Being,  which  is  God.  St.  Thomas  there- 
fore, humbly  presents  Albertus  as  his  mas- 
ter.138 Albertus  fitly  represents  that  special 
grace  which  makes  possible  interpretation 
"according  to  divine  truth  of  those  things 
which  man  apprehends  in  the  course  of  na- 
ture." 139 

The  most  perfect  instrument  of  science  is 
the  demonstrative  syllogism,  "which  from 
necessary  premises  draws  necessary  conclu- 
sions," 140  that  is,  certain  knowledge.  But  we 
must  often  reason  from  probable  premises  to 
conclusions  short  of  certain,  or  opinion,  tech- 
nically defined  as  "an  act  of  the  intellect  which 

137  Inf.  iv,  131. 

138  Par.  x,  97-99. 

139  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  1 1 — 1 1 ,  clxxiii,  2,  c:  "lumen  autem 
intelligibile  quandoque  quidem  iniprimitur  menti  humani 
divinitus  ...  ad  dijudicandum  secundum  divinam  veri- 
tatem  ea,  quae  cursu  naturali  homo  apprehend  it."  This 
dictum  applies  exactly  to  Dante's  illumination  in  Par. 
xxxiii,  85-91,  by  which  the  scattered  leaves  of  Nature's 
book  are  gathered  for  him  legibly  together. 

140  St.  Thomas,  I  Anal.  1. 


ARIADNE  S  CROWN  45 

leans  to  one  side  of  a  contradiction,  whilst  in 
fear  of  the  other."  141  Instrument  of  this  mode 
of  procedure  is  the  dialectic  syllogism.  A 
third  mode  from  various  conjectures  induces 
suspicion,  that  is,  an  act  of  the  intellect  which 
"not  altogether  leans  to  one  side  of  a  contra- 
diction, but  leans  rather  to  one  side  than  to 
the  other."  142  This  is  the  mode  of  persuasion, 
and  appertains  to  Rhetoric,  as  the  first  two 
modes  to  Logic.  All  three  modes  are  essential 
to  the  operation  of  prudence  and  prophecy  as 
influencing  others.  The  business  of  the 
prophet  is  threefold:  (i)  to  instruct,  (2)  to 
induce  conviction,  and  (3)  to  effect  loving 
obedience.  And  so  to  make  the  act  of  pro- 
phecy effective,  the  Holy  Spirit  confers  the 
grace  of  discourse.143 

The  Holy  Spirit  may  possess  the  prophet 
absolutely, — as  when  David  declared  that 
"The  spirit  of  the  Lord  spake  by  me,  and  his 
word  was  in  my  tongue."  144  But  the  grace 
of  discourse  may  be  given  in  any  less  degree ; 
in  which  case  the  prophet,  to  declare  his  mes- 
sage efficaciously,  must  be  trained  in  the  arts 

141  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  I,  lxxix,  9,  4m. 

142  lb.  xlviii,  c. 

143  lb.  clxxvii,  1,  c. 

144  II  Sam.  xxiii,  2;  cf.  St.  Thomas,  5.  T.  clxxiii,  4,  c. 


147 


46       SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

of  discourse,  Grammar,  Logic,  and  Rhetoric. 
Thus  Dante,  while  asserting  himself  to  be  the 
mere  "scribe"  of  the  Holy  Spirit,145  yet  attrib- 
utes his  "fair  style"  to  Virgil's  guidance.146 

As  representative  of  the  "first  art,"  Gram- 
mar,   Dante    explicitly    names 

"quel  Donato 
Ch'alla  prim'arte  degno  por  la  mano." 

Donatus  so  humbled  his  genius  to  profit 
others.  Imputing  the  beneficent  motive  to 
the  working  within  him  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
St.  Thomas  would  admit  him  a  prophet  in 
a  qualified  sense.148 

To  understand  any  discourse  we  must 
understand    the    terms,    or    names,    used.149 

us  par>  x>  27.  Cf.  St.  Bonaventure,  /  Sent.,  Prol.,  con- 
clus.:  "Aliquis  enim  scribit  alienam  materiam  nihil  addendo, 
vel  mutando;  et  iste  mere  dicitur  scriptor."  Cf.  Purg. 
xxiv,  52-54- 

146  Inf.  i,  85-87. 

147  Par.  xii,  137-138. 

us  "Propheta  secundum  quid.  Cf.  5.  T.  II-II,clxxiv, 3,0: 
".  .  .  cum  aliquis  ex  interiori  lumine  illustratur  ad 
cognoscendum  aliqua,  quae  tamen  non  excedunt  limites 
naturalis  cognitionis."  Grammar,  of  course,  does  not 
exceed  the  limits  of  human  cognition. 

149  St.  Thomas,  De  usuris,  I,  prin°:  "Cum  enim  nomina 
sint  signa  rerum,  et  ipsas  res  nobiscum  ferre  non  possimus 
in  disceptatione  veritatis  ipsarum;   ideo  ipsis  nominibus 


ariadne's  crown  47 

To  this  end  is  dedicated  that  branch  of  Gram- 
mar which  is  called  Etymology.  And  Isidore 
is  its  prophet.  His  Origines,  sen  Etymologiae 
passed  as  an  encyclopedia  of  universal 
knowledge,  yet  proceeds  chiefly  by  etymolo- 
gical definitions.150  Possibly,  also,  Dante 
introduced  St.  Isidore  as  representing  one 
function  of  the  prophet's  "gift  of  tongues." 
The  mind  may  be  illumined,  St.  Thomas  says, 
"to  the  end  of  understanding,  and  expound- 
ing, whatever  may  be  obscure  in  discourses, 
whether  on  account  of  the  difficulty  of  the 
things  signified,  or  also  on  account  of  un- 
known words  introduced,"  etc.151 

As  auxiliary  to  prophetic  discourse,  Logic 
must  be  conceived  on  its  formal  side,  as  the 
art  or  science  of  verbal  reasoning  {scientia 
sermocinalis) ,  rather  than  of  mental  reasoning 
{scientia  rationales) .  As  representative  of  the 

pro  rebus  utentes,  necesse  habemus  scire  quid  ipsa  nomina 
significent."  And  St.  Thomas  proceeds  to  explain  the 
term  "usura"  etymologically. 

150  Occasionally,  indeed,  the  limitation  of  etymological 
definition  was  recognized,  as  for  instance  by  St.  Thomas, 
S.  T.  II— II,  xcii,  1,  2m.  Medieval  writers,  however,  in- 
cluding Dante,  gave  to  it  an  importance  at  times  mystical, 
— especially  when  applied  to  proper  names.  The  practice 
is  illustrated  frequently  in  this  essay. 

151  S.  T.  II— II,  clxxvi,  2,  4m. 


48       SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

art  of  Logic  in  general  Dante  presents  Peter 
of  Spain, — 

"Pietro  Ispano, 
Lo  qual  giu  luce  in  dodici   libelli," 152 

that  is,  the  twelve  parts  of  the  Summulae 
Logicales,  a  manual  authoritative  in  Dante's 
time. 

Of  Logic  as  regulative  of  reasoned  dis- 
course, or  argumentation,  designed  to  force 
conviction,  or  to  win  assent,  the  instrument  is 
the  syllogism,  demonstrative  or  dialectic. 
The  former,  which  Aristotle  treats  in  his 
Posterior  Analytics,  is  in  effect  represented  by 
Albertus  Magnus,  master  of  the  demonstrative 
sciences.  The  dialectic  syllogism  leads,  as 
already  stated,  to  probable  conclusions,  or 
opinions.  "And  because  in  these  deception 
lies,  sophistical  arguments,  or  topics,  are 
added,153  that  men  may  know  how  to  resolve 
them."154  Fallacy  is  to  sound  argument  as 
hypocrisy  to  virtue,  being  error  under  the 
mask  of  truth.  The  human  mind  readily 
accepts  the  apparent  truth  for  the  real,  and 

152  Par.  xii,  134-135. 

153  According  to  the  ordering  of  the  Organon,  by  Aris- 
totle. 

154  St.  Bonaventure,  Illuminationes  Eccles.  iv. 


ari'adne's  crown  49 

therefore  needs  to  be  protected  from  its  own 
sophistry  as  well  as  from  that  of  others. 

"O  insensata  cura  dei  mortali, 
Quanto  son  difettivi  sillogismi 
Quei  che  ti  fanno  in  basso  batter  Tali!"155 

Therefore,  says  Aristotle,  beginning  his  essay 
on  fallacies,  the  Sophistical  Elenchi,  we  must 
learn  how  to  recognize  and  to  resolve  sophis- 
tical syllogisms,  both  verbal  and  substantial. 
Forewarned  is  forearmed. 

Now  exactly  this  preventive  medicine  for 
the  mind  was  offered  by  Sigier  of  Brabant, 

"Che,  leggendo  nel  Vico  degli  Strame, 
Sillogizzo  invidiosi  veri." 156 

One  of  the  most  celebrated  works  of  this  dia- 
lectician was  the  Impossibilia,  a  collection  of 
six  paradoxical  conclusions,  first  syllogisti- 
cally  demonstrated  as  true,  and  then  shown 
to  be  exactly  counter  to  the  true.  Inciden- 
tally, the  fallacies  involved  are  exposed.  The 
little  work  is  a  model  of  clarity  and  brevity, 
and  would  be  of  disciplinary  value  to-day.157 
The  six  sophistical  conclusions  are:    (1)  God 

155  Par.  xi,  1-3. 

156  Par.  x,  137-138. 

157  Reprint  in  Pierre  Mandonnet,  Siger  de  Brabant  et 
VAverroisme  Latin  au  XIII™*   Steele,  Louvain,  191 1. 


50       SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

does  not  exist;  (2)  All  things  that  appear  to 
us  are  simulacra  and  as  dreams,  so  that  we 
cannot  be  certain  of  the  existence  of  anything ; 
(3)  The  Trojan  War  is  going  on  at  this  very 
moment;  (4)  A  heavy  object,  even  if  not 
prevented,  will  not  fall;  (5)  Among  human 
acts  there  is  no  evil  act,  which  ought  to  be 
prohibited  or  punished  as  malicious ;  (6)  Any- 
thing may  at  the  same  time  be  and  not  be, 
and  contradictories  are  both  of  them  true 
reciprocally  and  of  the  same  thing.  Of  these 
paradoxes  Mandonnet  remarks:  "Le  sujet  de 
chaque  sophisme  revile  au  premier  abord  que 
nous  sommes  en  presence  de  simples  exercices 
scolaires."  158  The  remark  is  perhaps  just,  only 
we  should  remember  that  they  are  the  "exer- 
cises" of  a  master,  and  at  a  time  when  syllo- 
gistic demonstration  was  the  chief  instrument 
of  scientific  procedure.  Of  course,  Sigier  did 
not  expect  his  hearers  to  accept  his  fantastic 
conclusions  as  really  proved.  The  manifest 
point  would  be  to  show  up  the  tricks  of  the 
sophist.  In  the  work  as  printed,  the  solutions 
are  given ;  so  that  it  is  virtually  a  little  text- 
book on  fallacies,  and  a  useful  supplement  to 
Aristotle's  treatise,  which  lacks  illustrative 
examples. 

158  Op.  cit.  I,  p.  126. 


ariadne's  crown  51 


The  caption  of  the  Impossibilia  runs :  "To 
the  learned  members  of  the  University  of 
Paris  assembled  a  certain  sophist  undertook 
to  prove  and  defend  a  number  of  impossible 
(theses)."  159  This  declaration  conforms  as  to 
locality  to   Dante's  statement  that  Sigier, 

"leggendo  nel  Vico  degli  Strame, 
Sillogizzo  invidiosi  veri."  16° 

For  the  Vico  degli  Strame,  or  rue  du  Fouarre, 
ran  by  the  Sorbonne.  The  difficulty  has  been 
to  interpret  the  term  "invidiosi  veri" 

The  natural  meaning  of  the  term  would  be 
"invidious  truths."  It  happens  also  that  Sigier 
actually  argued  as  truths  doctrines  that  the 
Church  had  officially  declared  invidious,  and 
so  condemned  as  heretical.161  Dante's  char- 
acterization, in  its  natural  intention,  is  there- 
fore exact  and  just.  There  is  no  reason  what- 
ever for  doubting  that  he  meant  it  so. 

The  obvious  difficulty  is  how  and  why  he 
should  have  not  only  admitted  a  condemned 
heretic  into  Paradise,  but  even  have  exalted 

159  "Convocatis  sapientibus  studii  Parisiensis  proposuit 
sophista  quidam  impossibilia  multa  probare  et  defendere." 

160  Par.  x,  137-138. 

161  Dissemination  of  false  doctrine  is  an  act  of  envy, 
in  that  it  breaks  the  unity  of  the  Church.  Cf.  St.  Bon- 
aventure,  after  St.  Augustine,  In  Joan,  vii,  circa  fin. 


52        SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

him  among  the  divinely  illumined  and  illum- 
ining prophets  of  the  Sun.  To  pretend  that 
Dante  so  glorified  Sigier  in  sheer  ignorance  is 
a  libel  on  "il  gran  teologo"  One  of  Sigier's 
severest  critics  was  Thomas  Aquinas,  who  had 
publicly  attacked  him.162  Even  if  Dante  did 
not  know  this,  even  if — incredibly — he  had 
not  heard  of  Sigier's  formal  condemnation — 
made  in  1277,  in  Dante's  own  boyhood — he 
could  hardly  have  read  Sigier's  writings  with- 
out at  least  detecting  their  antagonism  to  his 
own  doctrines.  That  he  did  not  read  Sigier's 
writings,  but  deliberately  honored  as  one  of 
the  twenty-four  great  teachers  and  light- 
givers  of  Christendom  a  contemporary  known 
only  by  hearsay,  and  mistakenly  at  that, — 
well  such  assumption  is  rather  an  act  of  pre- 
sumption which  should  bar  him  who  makes  it 
from  Purgatory 

"Per  ogni  tempo  ch'egli  e  stato,  trenta, 
In  sua  presunzion." 

To  be  saved,  Sigier  must  have  recanted  his 
errors.  Dante  may  have  had  reason  to  sup- 
pose that  he  did ;  or  he  may  have  assumed  it, 
exactly  as  in  the  case  of  the  contumacious 

162  Cf.  Mandonnet,  op.  cit.  I,  iv. 


ariadne's  crown  53 

Manfred.163  Certainly,  befitting  a  penitent  is 
the  description  of  Sigier  as 

"uno  spirto  che,  in  pensieri 
Gravi,  a  morir  gli  parve  venir  tardo."  164 

And  Dante  needed  Sigier  in  heaven  to  repre- 
sent that  exposure  of  fallacious  reasoning 
which,  as  Aristotle  had  insisted  in  the  Sophis- 
tical Elenchi,  is  so  manifestly  a  requirement  of 
intellectual  prudence.  That  Sigier  in  his  own 
theological  reasoning  had  himself  been  guilty 
of  sophistries  only  made  his  exposure  of 
sophistries  in  the  Impossibilia  the  more  edi- 
fying. Dante  could  say  to  him :  "Out  of  thine 
own  mouth  will  I  judge  thee."  165  For,  as 
already  said,166  grace  may  be  given  for  true 
prophesying  in  some  things  to  men  false  and 
even  damnable  in  others. 

The  Impossibilia  is  not  only  a  work  of  high 
and  useful  inspiration ;  it  also  offers  a  second- 
ary meaning  for  the  term  invidiosi  veri  that 
exactly  fits  the  case.167 

163  Purg.  iii. 

164  Par.  x,  134-135. 

165  Luke,  xix,  22. 

166  p.  25. 

167  Use  of  double-meaning  terms  was  habitual  with 
medieval  theologians,  by  conviction  esoteric  in  their  teach- 
ing.   Dante  abundantly  illustrates  the  practice. 


54        SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

The  very  danger  of  the  sophistical  syllo- 
gism, said  Aristotle,  is  that  it  assumes  the 
mask  of  the  demonstrative  syllogism,  and  so 
appears  to  draw  a  necessary  conclusion  from 
necessary  premises.  And  such  a  demon- 
strated conclusion  is,  for  the  mind  that  sees 
no  defect  in  the  syllogism,  a  truth.  Apart 
from  immediate  experience  or  dogmatic 
authority,  there  is  no  other  criterion  of  truth. 
So  each  one  of  the  impossibilia  first  "syllo- 
gizes" with  apparent  necessity  a  conclusion, 
or  truth;  then,  correcting  the  latent  am- 
biguity or  irrelevancy  in  the  premises,  syllo- 
gizes another  conclusion,  or  truth,  contra- 
dictory of  the  first.  But  Sigier  reserves  to  the 
last  the  crowning  paradox  that  two  contra- 
dictories may  be  at  the  same  time  both  true.168 
Now  two  contradictory  truths,  whether 
accepted  by  the  mind  in  sequence  (as  in  the 
first  five  impossibilia)  or  at  the  same  time  (by 
apparent  demonstration  of  their  possible 
coexistence  in  the  sixth) ,  would  be  manifestly 
invidiosi  veri, — that  is,  truths  invidious  or 
hostile  to  each  other.  For  if  one  stands,  the 
other  falls : 

"Ogni  contradizzion  e  falsa  e  vera."  169 

168  Mandonnet,  op.  cit.  II,  p.  91:  "Quare  contradictoria 
simul  vera." 

169  Par.  vi,  21. 


ariadne's  crown  55 

Sigier's  positive  and  specific  service,  then, 
was  to  correct  the  hasty  judgment  that  jumps 
to  false  or  faulty  conclusions,  or  mistakes  for 
demonstrated  truths  smooth  and  plausible 
fallacies.  In  fact,  he  taught  the  very  lesson 
which  Thomas  Aquinas  drives  home  at  length 
in  his  last  words,  warning  Dante  against 
everyone 

"Chi  pesca  per  lo  vero  e  non  ha  l'arte."  17° 

Sigier  is  the  last  of  his  group  named  by 
Thomas.  Joachim  is  the  last  named  by  Bona- 
venture,  who  then  adds: 

"Ad  inveggiar  cotanto  paladino 
Mi  mosse  la  infiammata  cortesia 
Di  fra  Tommaso,  e  il  discreto  latino; 
E  mosse  meco  questa  compagnia."  m 

By  the  context  the  "paladin"  would  naturally 
be  Joachim.172  Bonaventure  and  his  circle  are 
moved  to  give  Joachim  enviable  rank  by  the 
courtesy,  kindled  by  charity,  and  the  dis- 
criminating 173  words  of  Fra  Tommaso.  If 
Thomas  in  his  great  charity  could  exalt  the 
culpable    and    personally    obnoxious    Sigier, 

170  Par.  xiii,  123.    Cf.  ib.  109-142. 

171  Par.  xii,  142-145. 

172  Cf.  L.  Filomusi-Guelfi,  Giorn.  dant.  xxiii,  222-223. 

173  Cf.  discreta  in  Inf.  xxxi,  54. 


56       SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

Bonaventure  assuredly  might  Joachim,  even 
though  disapproving  him  in  some  ways. 
Speaking  of  one  of  Joachim's  writings  Bona- 
venture comments:  "By  the  just  judgment  of 
God  his  book  was  condemned  in  the  Lateran 
Council."  174  Yet,  on  the  other  hand,  Bona- 
venture gave  assent  to  Joachim's  prophecy  of 
a  holy  age  to  come  on  earth.175 

Dante  presents  no  representative  of  the  art 
of  Rhetoric, — perhaps  because  his  choice 
would  have  been  ineligible  to  the  Christian 
heaven.  For  he  has  named  as  his  masters  in 
style  Virgil  and  Horace.176  Also,  the  art  of 
Grammar  covered  much  more  in  the  matter  of 
style  than  to-day.  Isidore  defines  it  compre- 
hensively as  "skill  in  speaking,"  (loqitendi 
peritia).  Rhetoric,  on  the  other  hand,  was 
chiefly  concerned  with  legal  and  forensic 
argumentation . x  7  7 

Finally,  there  goes  to  the  equipping  of  a 
complete  prophet  the  special  grace  of  confirm- 
ing his  prophecy  by  working  miracles.178 
But  grace  is  only  given  ad  utilitatem.    Mira- 

174  /  Sent,  v,  dub.  4. 

175  See  below,  p.  73. 

176  Inf.  i,  85-87;  Vulg.  eloq.  II,  iv,  34. 

177  Cf.  St.  Isidore,  Etymol.  i,  1. 

178  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  II— II,  clxxviii,  1. 


ARIADNE  S  CROWN  57 

cle-working  would  be  supererogatory  where 
prophecy  obtains  credence  without  it.  And 
the  prophets  of  the  Sun  have,  each  according 
to  his  own  particular  gift,  so  obtained  cre- 
dence. Indeed,  the  greater  miracle  is  that 
without  miracle-working  they  should  have 
convinced  mankind  of  their  truth  and  utility. 
It  is  with  them  as  with  the  winning  of  the 
world  by  the  apostles,  as  Dante  said : 

"Se  il  mondo  si  rivolse  al  Cristianesmo," 
Diss'io,  "senza  miracoli,  quest'uno 
E  tal  che  gli  altri  non  sono  il  centesmo."  179 

Indeed,  Dante  conceived  his  twenty-four 
prophets — and  himself — as  called  to  continue 
the  work  of  the  apostles.180 

CONVERGENCE  OF   THE  TWENTY-FOUR  LIGHTS 
UPON  THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  TRINITY 

The  diverse  gifts  of  all  twenty-four  proph- 
ets converge  in  operation  to  one  end, — 
"cognition  of  divine  truth,  by  contemplation 
of  which  we  are  not  only  instructed  in  the 

179  Par.  xxiv,  106-108.  Cf.  St.  Thomas,  In  Matt,  x, 
prin°:  "...  hoc  est  maximum  (miraculum),  quia  per 
duodecim  vilissimos  homines  piscatores  totus  mundus  con- 
versus  est."    St.  Thomas  is  speaking  after  St.  Augustine. 

180  See  below,  pp.  95  et  seq. 


58        SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

faith,  but  also  governed  in  our  acts."  181  Our 
faith  turns  chiefly,  however,  on  these  two, — 
true  cognition  of  God  as  three  in  one,  and  the 
mystery  of  the  Incarnation.  Christ  incarnate 
revealed  the  mystery  of  the  Trinity;  and  on 
this  revelation  "is  founded  the  whole  faith 
of  the  Church,  according  to  the  words  of 
Matthew  (xvi,  18):  Super  hanc  petram, 
scilicet  confessionis  tuae,  aedificabo  Ecclesiam 
meant."  182  So  the  reward  of  the  prophets  will 
be  perfect  understanding  of  this  prime  article 
of  their  faith  prophesied. 

"Tal  era  quivi  la  quarta  famiglia 
Dell 'alto  padre  che  sempre  la  sazia, 
Mostrando  come  spira  e  come  figlia."  183 

And  we  are  constantly  reminded  of  this, 
their  supreme  preoccupation.184  And  thus, 
collectively,  the  twenty-four  prophets  in 
their  specially  inspired  works  embody  the 
fourfold  illumination  of  the  Church,  and  the 
"reduction"  of  these  to  the  highest  illumina- 
tion, "the  light  of  grace  and  holy  Scripture." 185 
The  first  illumination  is  by  "external  light, 

181  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  1 1 — II,  clxxiv,  6,  c. 

182  lb. 

183  Par.  x,  49-51. 

184  E.  g.,  Par.  x,  1-3;  xiii,  25-27,  52-57;  *iv,  28-30. 

185  St.  Bonaventure,  Reductio  artium  ad  theologiam. 


ARIADNE  S  CROWN  59 

i.  e.of  mechanical  art,"  which  illumines  as  to 
"artificial  form";  the  second  is  by  "inferior 
light,  i.  e.  of  sense-cognition,"  which  illumines 
as  to  "natural  form" ;  the  third  is  by  "interior 
light,  i.  e.  of  philosophic  cognition,"  which 
illumines  as  to  intellectual  truth;  the  fourth 
is  "by  light  of  grace  and  holy  Scripture," 
which  illumines  as  to  "salutary  truth."  In 
Dante's  scheme,  artificial  or  artistic  form  in 
exposition  and  argument  is  controlled  by 
Grammar  and  Dialectic  {logica  utens) ;  sense- 
cognition,  observation  of  things,  supplies 
data  for  the  demonstrative  sciences  controlled 
by  Logic  {logica  docens),  of  which  Physics 
concerns  the  truth  of  concrete  things,  Meta- 
physics the  truth  of  abstract  things,  Ethics 
the  truth  of  human  acts;  and  finally,  Theol- 
ogy brings  truth  salutary,  or  sum  of  all  profit- 
able truth,  as  contained  under  the  fourfold 
sense  of  Scripture.  And  this,  as  said,  alto- 
gether hinges  on  interpretation  of  the  mystery 

of  the  Trinity : 

"da  quel  punto 

Depende  il  cielo  e  tutta  la  natura." 
NUMBER  AND  GROUPING  OF  THE  SUN-SPIRITS 

As  expressive  of  the  totality  of  illumina- 
tions  of   the    Church,    the    Sun-spirits    are, 


60       SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

according  to  medieval  number-symbolism, 
twenty-four,  or  twelve  doubled.186  Specifical- 
ly, however,  the  considerable  if  mysterious 
part  played  by  the  "twenty-four  elders"  in 
Revelations  is  certainly  in  Dante's  mind. 
Church  writers  constantly  if  variously  inter- 
pret these  elders.  Most  often  they  are  said  to 
represent  the  patriarchs  of  the  Old  Testament 
and  apostles  of  the  New  Testament.187  From 
this,  however,  the  step  to  their  identification 
with  the  representative  exponents,  doctors,  of 
the  two  Testaments  is  easy.188  They  are 
called  "elders"  for  their  wisdom.189  Also  "all 
preachers" — twenty-four  as  Fathers  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments,190  also  "wise 
judges"  to  make  manifest  the  mysteries  of  the 
Law,  and  fulfil  God's  will  to  save  mankind.191 
Dante's  sun-spirits  include  doctors,  preachers, 

186  Cf.  Albertus  Magnus,  De  laud.  b.  Mar.  Virg.  XIII, 
vii,  v,  1 1 :  "Per  viginti  quatuor  sicut  et  per  duodecim  .  .  . 
universitas  figuratur." 

187  E.  g.,  St.  Bonaventure,  Expos,  in  reg.  frat.  minor. 
iii;  Albert.  Mag.,  De  laud.  b.  Mar.  Virg.  XII,  vii,  v,  II, 
In  Apoc.  b.  Jo. 

188  So  e.  g.  Albert.,  In  Apoc.  v,  14:  "Et  viginti  quatuor 
seniores,  id  est,  universi  doctores,  etc."    Cf.  xix,  4. 

189  lb. 

190  lb.  xi,  17. 

191  lb.  v,  10. 


ariadne's  crown  6i 

and  judges.  But  another  text  of  Revelations 
Albert  interprets  even  more  relevantly.  "Et 
in  circuitu  sedis  sedilia  viginti  quatuor:  et 
super  thronos  viginti  quatuor  senior es  sedentes, 
circumamicti  vestimentis  albis,  et  in  capitibus 
eorum  coronae  aureae."  192  Collating  this  text 
with  Matthew  xix,  28,193  in  which  promise  is 
made  by  Christ  of  only  twelve  seats  with 
twelve  that  shall  sit  upon  them,  Albert 
harmonizes  the  two  by  declaring  that  one 
seat  or  throne  refers  to  judiciary  power,  the 
other  to  apostolic  dignity,  and  that  there  are 
so  twelve  seats  in  each  class;  or,  twenty-four 
on  account  of  the  merits  of  the  apostles  and 
prophets.194  Furthermore,  he  distinguishes 
between  the  twenty-four  seats  and  the  twen- 
ty-four sitting  upon  them,  in  that  the  seats 
themselves  represent  all  those  in  whom  God 
"sits,"  i.  e.  the  congregation  of  the  faithful  or 
lay-members  of  the  Church,  whereas  those 
sitting  upon  the  seats  are  so  called,  "because 
of  their  duty  to  govern  and  instruct  in  good 
works  these  as  subject  to  them."    Besides 

192  iv,  4. 

193  Jesus  autem  dixit  illis:  "Amendico  vobis,  quod  vos 
qui  secuti  estis  me,  in  regeneratione,  cum  sederit  Filius 
hominis  in  sede  majestatis  suae,  sedebitis  et  vos  super 
sedes  duodecim,  judicantes  duodecim  tribus  Israel." 

194  lb.,  iv,  4. 


62        SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

their  golden  crowns  of  victory  over  the  vices, 
they  are  clothed  in  white  stoles,  which  Albert 
interprets  as  their  resurrected  bodies,  so  offer- 
ing to  Dante  another  suggestion  for  the  third 
crown.195  Finally,  in  connection  with  the 
following  verse,  Rev.  iv,  5,  Albert  adds  to  the 
previous  classes  intended  under  the  "elders" 
"the  greater  personages  in  the  Church,  .  .  . 
prelates."  196 

In  the  light  of  these  indications,  I  think  it 
may  be  said  with  confidence  that  the  originals, 
so  to  speak,  of  Dante's  twenty-four  prophets 
of  the  Sun  were  St.  John's  twenty-four  elders, 
as  interpreted  by  the  theologians.  I  have 
used  Albert's  interpretations  for  convenience, 
not  meaning  to  imply  that  Dante  necessarily 
used  them  rather  than  others.  Not  only  were 
such  interpretations  widely  current,  but  each 
writer  added  his  own  amendment  or  exten- 
sion according  to  his  learning  and  inge- 
nuity. 

Thus  in  collective,  as  well  as  in  individual, 

195  lb.  Cf.  above,  p.  14.  Dante  himself  uses  "bianche 
stole"  for  the  resurrected  bodies  in  Par.  xxv,  95,  and  ex- 
plicitly after  St.  John  in  Revelations. 

196  lb.  5.  This  verse  also,  among  others,  warrants 
interpretation  of  the  seven  lamps,  or  candelabra,  as  the 
gifts  of  the  Holy  Spirit  possessed  by  the  prophets  of  the 
Sun.    Cf.  below,  pp.  64  et  seq. 


ariadne's  crown  63 

symbolic  derivation,  the  twenty-four  prophets 
may  be  considered  together  as  constituting 
one  whole  group.  Actually,  however,  Dante 
presents  the  first  circle  of  twelve  as  a 
complete  unit,  and  then  the  second  circle  as 
if  springing  197  from  the  first.  It  may  be  as 
well,  then,  to  consider  the  symbolic  develop- 
ments as  he  presents  them,  and  first  of  the 
first  circle  by  itself. 

SIGNIFICATION  OF  THE  FIRST  CIRCLE 

Dante  first  sees  this  circle  as  a  crown  of 
"living  and  victorious  gleams"  centered  in 
himself  and  Beatrice.198  As  presently  indi- 
cated, however,  she,  as  the  fair  lady  who 
renders  him  worthy  of  heaven,  is  the  true 
center.199  In  this  connection,  as  equivalent  in 
function  towards  him,  Beatrice  may  repre- 
sent the  Church,  the  Bride, — or  the  Lady  on 
whose  intercession  the  Church  depends,  the 
Virgin  Mary.  Dante  himself  is  the  ftdelis 
anima,  representing  the  congregation  of  the 
faithful  or  membership  of  the  Church.  The 
twelve  gleaming  lights  crowning — or  rather 

197  Nascendo.    Par.  xii,  13. 

198  Par.  x,  64-65. 

199  Par.  x,  92-93. 


64       SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

girdling — them,  is  first  compared  to  the  halo 
about  the  Moon : 

"Cosi  cinger  la  figlia  di  Latona 

Vedem  tal  volta,  quando  l'aere  e  pregno 
Si  che  ritenga  il  fil  che  fa  la  zona." 200 

As  Christ,  bridegroom  and  king,  is  symbolized 
in  the  Sun,  the  Church — or  Mary — bride  and 
queen,  is  also  symbolized  in  the  Moon.201  We 
have  already  learned  that  the  Sun  makes 
"Delia's  girdle"  of  seven  colors  corresponding 
with  those  of  the  seven  "streamers"  of  the 
candelabra,  and  that  these  streamers  repre- 
sent the  seven  gifts  of  the  Holy  Spirit.202  So 
the  Church,  or  Mary,  pregnant  from  the 
Holy  Spirit,  contains  the  Filium,  the  Son, 
who  makes  her  girdle  of  the  gifts,  possession 
of  which  makes  salvation  possible. 

CARRIERS  OF  THE  SEVEN  GIFTS 

The  seven  gifts,  which  are  "certain  habitual 
dispositions  of  the  soul,  by  which  it  is  prompt- 
ly moved  by  the  Holy  Spirit,"  203  are  needed 
to  supplement  with  divine  instinct  the  natural 

200  Par.  x,  67-69. 

201  Cf.  Albert.  Mag.,  op.  cit.  VI,  xiii;  III,  iv. 

202  purg,  xxix,  73-78. 

203  St.  Thomas,  5.  T.  II— II,  cxxi,  1. 


ariadne's  crown  65 

instinct  of  reason,  from  which  the  moral 
virtues  flow.204  They  are  given  to  all  that 
have  charity,  and  each  of  them  implies  the 
rest.205  Yet  the  meritorious  action  of  one  man 
may  illustrate  one  gift  especially;  another 
that  of  another.  So  the  individual  living  lights 
that  constitute  their  symbol,  the  moon- 
girdle,  might  be  expected  severally  to  illus- 
trate the  seven  particular  gifts.  And  Dante's 
hints  seem  to  bear  out  the  expectation. 

Four  of  the  gifts  appertain  to  cognition; 
three  to  volition.  The  four  are  understanding 
(intellectus) ,  wisdom  (sapientia),  knowledge 
(scientia) ,  and  counsel  {consilium) ;  the  three 
are  piety  (pietas),  fortitude  (fortitudo),  and 
fear  of  the  Lord  (timor  Dei).  The  four  gifts 
are  ordained  to  supernatural  knowledge  which 
in  us  takes  its  foundation  from  faith.  By  the 
gift  of  understanding  the  mind  penetrates  and 
grasps  things  beyond  its  natural  faculty.206 
Dionysius  and  Richard  of  St.  Victor  clearly 
illustrate  this  gift.  By  the  gift  of  wisdom 
man  judges  these  supernatural  things  aright, 
esteeming  that  he  should  adhere  to  them  and 

204  lb.  I-II,  lxviii,  2. 

205  lb.  5. 

206  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  II— II,  viii,  6,  c. 


66       SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

turn  away  from  their  opposites.207  Solomon 
and  St.  Thomas  illustrate  this  gift,  the  former 
on  the  positive,  the  latter  on  the  negative 
side  in  the  Contra  Gentiles.  By  the  gift  of 
knowledge  man  judges  created  things.  Alber- 
tus  Magnus,  recognized  authority  on  natural 
science,  illustrates  this  gift,  especially  for  the 
demonstrative  sciences.  St.  Isidore,  inter- 
preter of  the  names  of  things,  and  Sigier, 
corrector  of  false  inference  from  propositions 
concerning  names  of  things,  would  illustrate 
dialectic  science.208  By  the  gift  of  counsel 
man  judges  individual  actions.209  Gratian's 
counsel  clarified  actions  under  both  laws. 
Again,  "the  gift  of  counsel  corresponds  to 
prudence,  as  aiding  and  perfecting  it." 210 
Orosius,  "avvocato  dei  tempi  cristiani"  by  his 
Historiae  adversns  paganos  aided  and  per- 
fected St.  Augustine's  De  civitate  Dei,  which 
as  "concerning  those  things  which  make  for 
the  ultimate  end,"  was  preeminently  a  pru- 
dential work. 

Of  the  three  gifts  affecting  the  will,  that  of 

207  lb. 

208  "Scientia"  is  "rectitudo  cognitionis    .    .    .    circa  con- 
clusiones."   St.  Thomas,  I  Anal.  44. 

209  St.  Thomas,  5.  T.  II— II,  viii,  6,  c. 

210  lb.  II— II,  Hi,  2,  c. 


ariadne's  crown  67 

fortitude  is  illustrated  by  Boethius,  martyr. 
For  martyrdom  is  the  supreme  act  of  forti- 
tude.211 Piety  is  owed,  after  God,  Pater 
omnium,  to  parents  and  fatherland,  patria.212 
Bede  is  specially  cited  for  piety  by  Dante.213 
His  Historia  ecclesiastica  gentis  Anglorum  is 
deeply  inspired  by  patriotism,  pietas  patriae, 
as  well  as  by  piety  towards  God.  Fear  of  the 
Lord  is  given  against  pride,  and  is  the  begin- 
ning of  humility,214  and  corresponds  to  the 
beatitude  of  the  "poor  in  spirit."  215  Dante 
commends  Peter  Lombard  rather  for  his  like- 
ness in  humility  to  the  "poor  widow,"  la 
poverella,  than  for  the  value  of  his  mite.216 

The  second  group  of  twelve  spirits  form 
later  a  bow  "like-colored"  217  with  the  first,  and 
should  therefore  show  like  correspondences 

211  St.  Thomas,  5.  T.  1 1 -I  I,  cxxiv,  2. 

212  lb.  ci,  1. 

213  Ep.  VIII,  vii,  117. 

214  St.  Thomas,  6".  T.  II— II,  xix,  9,  4m. 

215  lb.  12. 

216  Par.  x,  106-108.  St.  Bonaventure  cites  the  poor 
widow  as  the  most  perfect  example  of  poverty  in  spirit : 
"paupertas  .  .  .  altissima  sibi  subtrahit  etiam  necessaria, 
sicut  ilia  vidua,  qui  in  gazophylacio  de  suis  necessariis  duo 
dedit  minuta."  Redes.  Hierarch.  I,  iv.  Cf.  De  paupertate 
Christi,  I,  i. 

217  Par.  xii,  11. 

/ 


68        SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

with  the  gifts.  Some  indeed  fall  readily  into 
place.  Supernatural  understanding  was  given 
to  Nathan  and  Joachim  as  foretellers.  Il- 
luminate, courting  martyrdom  with  his  mas- 
ter St.  Francis,  so  expressed  the  gift  of  for- 
titude. Augustino,  as  related  above,218  showed 
superabounding  piety  towards  his  spiritual 
father,  St.  Francis.  St.  Anselm  and  Hugo  of 
St.  Victor  would  fill  the  bracket  of  wisdom 
for  inspired  judgment  of  supernatural  things; 
Sts.  Bonaventure  and  Chrysostom  that  of 
counsel  in  the  temporal  actions  of  men; 
Rabanus,  Peter  of  Spain,  and  Donatus  that 
of  knowledge  or  science.  Pietro  Mangiadore, 
or  Petrus  Comestor,  would  so  be  left  to  repre- 
sent "fear  of  the  Lord,"  and  if,  as  before,  we 
may  take  humility  and  poverty  in  spirit  as 
special  marks  of  that  gift,  Peter's  famous 
punning  epitaph  on  himself  would  give  war- 
rant.  It  ran: 

"Petrus   eram,    quern   petra    tegit;    dictusque 

Comestor 
Nunc  comedor.    Vivos  docui  nee  cesso  docere 
Mortuus,  ut  dicat,  qui  me  videt  intumulatum: 
Quod   sumus,    iste   fuit;    erimus   quandoque, 

quod  hie  est." 


218 


P  P-  37-38. 


ariadne's  crown  69 

secondary  symbolism  of  the  circles 

The  primary  business  of  all  prophets  is  as 
spokesmen  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  counsel  men. 
In  the  exercise  of  this  gift  they  resemble  most 
the  Holy  Spirit  itself,  which  is  said  "by  the 
means  of  counsel  to  move  the  rational  crea- 
ture." 219  To  be  so  moved,  however,  the  crea- 
ture must  be  "well-disposed,"  and  the  condi- 
tion of  docility  results  from  possession  of  all 
the  gifts.  The  final  image  in  Canto  x  sums 
this  doctrine.  The  wheel  of  twelve  counselling 
prophets,  moved  by  the  Holy  Spirit  through 
its  gifts,  sounds  a  concordant  note  as  a  "clock- 
wheel,"  orologio,  sounding  harmonious  chimes, 
invites  the  "well-disposed  soul"  to  morning- 
worship.220  The  figure  of  the  clock  is  also 
pertinent,  since  the  right  timing  of  actions  is 
an  important  function  of  the  gift  of  counsel.221 

PRIMACY  OF  CONTEMPLATIVES 

That  the  Bride,  the  Church,  might  keep 
straight  on  her  way  to  Christ,  the  Bride- 

219  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  II— II,  Hi,  i,  c. 

220  Par.  x,  139-148. 

221  St.  Thomas,  5.  T.  Ill  Sent,  xxxv,  2,  4,  sol.  1:  ".  .  . 
recte  consiliatur  quis  ...  si  tempus  sit  conveniens 
rebus  agendis,  ne  per  diuturnitatem  consilii  tempus  tran- 
seat."  So  Nathan  wrongly  advised  David  to  build  the 
Temple  at  once. 


70        SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

groom,  Providence  ordained  two  "princes" 
to  escort  her,  one  on  either  side,  and  one 
seraphic  in  heat  of  charity,  the  other  cherubic 
in  light  of  wisdom.222  Both  together  represent 
perfect  prudence,  "which  to  the  end  of  all  life 
rightly  counsels,  judges,  and  commands."223 
These  two,  Dominic  and  Francis,  were  or- 
dained to  lead  the  Church 

"per  cammino 
U'ben  s'impingua,  se  non  si  vaneggia." 224 

For  making  the  founders  of  the  two  great 
religious  orders  guiding  "princes"  of  the 
Church  Militant  Dante  had  the  authority  of 
St.  Bonaventure.  In  the  subtly  symbolical 
treatise,  Illuminationes  Ecclesiae  in  Hexae- 
meron22b  St.  Bonaventure  orders  the  ecclesias- 
tical hierarchy  after  the  angelic.  Highest 
are  the  contemplatives,  who,  moved  by  the 
Holy  Spirit,  are  dedicate  to  divine  things  in 
three  ways:  (i)  by  supplication,  (2)  by 
speculation,  (3)  by  ecstasy  or  rapture.226  To 

222  par  x^  28-39. 

223  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  1 1 — 1 1 ,  xlvii,  13,  c. 

224  Par.  x,  95-96. 

225  Sermo  xxii. 

226  "Sursumactivam,  scilicet  excedentium."  "Excessus 
mentis,"    is    the    schoolmen's    translation    of    the    Greek 

e/ccTTatns. 


ARIADNE  S  CROWN  7 1 

the  first  of  these  three  grades  belong  the 
monastic  orders  dedicated  to  prayer  and 
devotion,  such  as  the  Cistercian,  Premon- 
strant,  Carthusian,  etc.  These  correspond 
to  the  Thrones.  To  the  second  grade  be- 
long those  orders  dedicated  to  "speculation," 
that  is,  principally  doctrinal  interpretation 
of  Scripture.  These  correspond  to  the  Cher- 
ubim, and  are  "the  Preachers  and  the 
Minors,"  i.  e.  Dominicans  and  Franciscans. 
The  Preachers,  as  their  name  implies,  are  given 
primarily  to  speculation,  and  secondarily  to 
"unction,"  or  holy  meditation; 227  the  Minors 
vice  versa.  And  St.  Bonaventure  quotes  St. 
Francis  as  having  said  that  he  wished  his 
friars  to  study,  provided  they  "did  some- 
thing" first:  "for  to  know  much,  and  taste 
not,  what  boots  it?"  228  Whatever  St.  Francis 
may  have  meant,  Bonaventure  the  mystic 
interpreted  the  word  "taste,"  gustare,  as  an 
emotional    experience.     Gustus    is    the    fifth 

227  Unctio  is  the  second  of  the  seven  grades  of  contempla- 
tion, and  is  defined  in  St.  Bonaventure's  figurative  language 
as  "quidam  roseus  liquor,  qui  per  totam  animam  se  diffun- 
dens  ipsam  erudit,  corroborat  et  confortat,  disponens  earn 
suaviter  ad  veritatis  luculentias  suscipiendas,  atque 
pariter  contemplandas,  etc."  De  septem  gradibus  con- 
template prin°. 

228  lb. 


7 2        SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

grade  of  contemplation,  and  defined  as  "a 
certain  instilled  and  delectable  foredraught  of 
the  superinestimable  divine  sweetness."  By 
receiving  it,  "we  are  conformed  to  the  cogni- 
tion of  supercelestial  substances." 229  St. 
Bonaventure's  distinction,  then,  between 
Dominican  and  Franciscan  activity  is,  to 
speak  simply,  one  between  the  mystic's 
absorption  in  his  own  emotional  experience 
and  the  theologian's  doctrinal  study  and 
preaching.  It  is  a  distinction,  however,  of 
degree  only.  Both  orders  correspond,  he 
declares,  to  the  Cherubim,  who  signify  "plen- 
itude of  knowledge  or  wisdom,"  as  the 
Seraphim  signify  "fire  of  charity."  230  In  St. 
Francis  himself,  indeed,  so  intense  was 
charity  that  it  exalted  him  to  the  sixth  grade 
of  contemplation,  which  is  nearly  that  of  the 
blest.  From  this  "quiet,"  or  absolute  and 
habitual  self -absorption  in  God,  he  rose 
momentarily  to  the  seventh  and  final  grade 
of  "glory"  when  the  six-winged  Seraph 
appeared   to   him   in   vision   to   confer   the 

229  lb.:  "Beneficio  hujus  gradus  cognitio  experientiae 
tribuitur,  per  quam  supercoelestium  substantiarum  cog- 
nitioni  conformamur." 

230  lb.,  and  II  Sent,  vi,  i,  I,  concl.  Cf.  St.  Thomas, 
S.T.I,  lxiii,  7,  im. 


ariadne's  crown  73 

stigmata.  So  St.  Bonaventure  conceives  St. 
Francis  as  constituting  by  himself  a  third,  or 
"Seraphic  order,"  which  in  the  fulness  of  time 
may  become  an  actual  brotherhood,  con- 
summating the  Church.231  As  consummative, 
this  future  "Seraphic  order"  is  correspondent 
to  the  Holy  Spirit.  So  after  the  age  of  the 
Old  Testament,  or  of  the  Father,  and  after 
that  of  the  New  Testament,  or  of  the  Son, 
shall  come  the  age  of  the  Apocalypse,  or  of 
the  Holy  Spirit, — as  indeed  Joachim  had 
prophesied.232 

It  is  quite  possible,  I  think,  that  Dante 
intended  this  future  third  order  in  those  dim 
"new  subsistences"  which  make  a  third  circle 
around  the  other  two  in  the  heaven  of  the 
Sun,  and  which  are  hailed  as  "the  true  spark- 
ling of  the  Holy  Spirit."  233  This  interpreta- 
tion may  coexist  with  that  already  given.234 
Though  critics  may  forget  it,  Dante's  allegory 
is  multiple.  The  "new  subsistences"  remain 
angels;  none  else  could  represent  a  brother- 

231  Ilium,  eccles.  xxii. 

232  lb.:  "Sex  sunt  tempora,  quorum  sextum  tempus 
habet  sex  tempora  cum  quiete.  Et  sicut  Christus  in  sexto 
tempore  venit,  ita  opportet  quod  in  fine  generetur  Ecclesia 
contemplativa." 

233  Par.  xiv,  67-78. 

234  pp.  14  et  seq. 


74        SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

hood  not  yet  existent.  Also,  the  interpreta- 
tion gives  point  to  the  suggestive  likeness  of 
the  three  concentric  circles  in  the  Sun  to  those 
in  the  Empyrean  avowedly  signifying  Father, 
Son,  and  Holy  Spirit.235  St.  Thomas,  indeed, 
is  severe  on  the  "vanity  of  those  who  say  that 
any  age  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  to  be  expected."236 
Dante  may  have  differed  on  this  point,  or  he 
may  have  saved  his  loyalty  by  a  distinction. 
I  do  not  know.  But  at  least  St.  Thomas 
would  agree  that  the  religious  orders  are  right 
leaders  in  spiritual  instruction.237  Moreover, 
he  was  himself  a  friar. 


DOMINICAN  AND  FRANCISCAN  DOCTRINES 

Dante's  discipleship  to  St.  Thomas  is  at 
any  rate  manifest  in  the  symbolic  relations 
between  the  first  two  circles,  presided  over  by 
St.  Thomas  himself  and  St.  Bonaventure. 
As  the  latter  says,  though  both  Preachers  and 
Minors  correspond  to  the  Cherubim  as  seekers 
and  d  iff  users  of  divine  wisdom,  yet  the  former 
proceed  rather  by  the  mode  of  the  intellect, 

235  Par.  xxxiii,  1 15-120. 

236  S.  T.  I— II,  cvi,  4,  2m. 

237  Quol.  IV,  xxiii,  18:  "Status  religionis  est  spiritualis 
militia  proficientibus,  et  exercitium  tirocinii  incipientibus." 


ariadne's  crown  75 

the  latter  rather  by  the  mode  of  the  will.238 
In  other  words,  in  his  two  groups  of  prophesi- 
ers  Dante  presents  the  two  sides  of  the  great 
medieval  issue  as  to  the  primacy  of  the 
intellect  or  of  the  will.  The  two  schools 
dividing  on  this  issue  were  (1)  the  Platonic- 
Augustinian,  dominant  during  the  first  half 
of  the  thirteenth  century,  and  (2)  the  Aristo- 
telian-Thomistic,  which  from  1245,  when 
Albertus  Magnus  began  his  teaching  at  Paris, 
was  becoming  more  and  more  influential, 
until  Dante  could  declare  its  doctrines  "vir- 
tually Catholic  opinion."  239  The  Franciscans 
generally  adhered  to  the  older  school,  assert- 
ing the  preeminence  of  the  idea  of  the  good 
over  that  of  the  true,  and  defining  the  latter 
by  the  former.  Also,  they  maintained  the 
primacy  of  will  over  intellect,  both  in  God 
and  in  man.  So  by  act  of  will  man  attains  to 
God.240  Consequently,  they  emphasized  the 
moral  and  mystical  side  of  religious  teaching, 
whereas  their  opponents,  the  Thomists,  em- 
phasized its  intellectual  and  doctrinal  side. 
For  these  the  prime  agency  and  the  essential 

238  Ilium,  eccles.  xxii. 

239  Conv.  IV,  vi,  145-150. 

240  Cf.  P.  Mandonnet,  Siger  de  Brabant,  etc.,  I,  ii. 


76       SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

reward  of  salvation  was  the  intellectual  vision. 
So  Dante: 

"Quinci  si  puo  veder  come  si  fonda 
L'esser  beato  nell'atto  che  vede, 
Non  in  quel  ch'ama,  che  poscia  seconda."  241 

Dante's  first  circle,  then,  are  either  Thom- 
ists,  or  such  as  abetted  or  anticipated  in 
principle  the  Thomist  point  of  view.  The 
second  circle  is  of  Augustinians  and  their 
natural  allies.242  The  distinction  may  be 
variously  illustrated.  Thus  Sigier  served  the 
discipline  of  the  Aristotelian  syllogism  and 
logical  argumentation,  natural  intellectualist 
mode  of  convincing.  Donatus,  as  gram- 
marian, more  fitly  served  the  Augustinian, 
who  appealed  rather  to  the  affective  side  of 
human  nature,  and  so  employed  rhetorical 
persuasion.  Again,  the  Augustinians  were 
indifferent,  or  even  averse,  to  natural  science; 
so  that  there  is  no  exact  pair  to  Albertus 
Magnus  in  the  second  circle.  On  the  other 
hand,  Illuminato  and  Augustino  are  presented 
as  examples  of  right  spiritual  conduct  solely. 
They  wrote  nothing.  All  of  the  first  circle 
taught  primarily  by  their  writings. 

241  Par.  xxviii,  I 09-11 I. 

242  Cf.  Mandonnet,  op.  cit.  I,  p.  287 K 


.». 


ARIADNE  S  CROWN  77 

COOPERATION  OF  THE  TWO  ORDERS 

The  important  point  of  Dante's  argument, 
however,  is  that  the  two  schools  are  not 
antagonistic,  but  complementary.243  St. 
Thomas  and  his  group  communicate  by 
science  the  true;  St.  Bonaventure  and  his 
group  communicate  by  charity  the  good.  Of 
both  groups  it  may  be  said,  that  "ad  un  fine 
fur  I'oper e  sue."2U   Both  are  needed. 

"Degno  e  che  dove  l'un,  l'altro  s'induca 
Si  che  com'elli  ad  una  militaro, 
Cosi  la  gloria  loro  insieme  luca." 245 

St.  Thomas,  as  well  as  St.  Dominic,  was 

"L'amoroso  drudo 
Delia  fede  cristiana,  il  santo  atleta 
Benigno  ai  suoi,  ed  ai  nemici  crudo." 246 

Also,  "gran  dottor,"  247  he  was  granted,  in  his 
Contra  Gentiles, 

"contro  al  mondo  errante 
Licenza  di  combatter  per  lo  seme 
"Del  qual  ti  fascian  ventiquattro  piante."  248 

243  Cf.  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  II— II,  clxxxiii,  2. 

244  Par.  xi,  42. 

245  Par.  xii,  34-36. 

246  lb.  55-57- 

247  lb.  85. 

248  lb.  94-96. 


78        SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

So  St.  Bonaventure,  who  always  "set  aside 
the  left-hand  care/'249  wedded  like  his  master, 
St.  Francis,  Poverty — in  spirit  as  in  material 
things;  and  so  attained 

"alia  mercede 
Ch'ei    merito   nel   suo    farsi    pusillo."  25° 

The  extreme  of  the  Franciscan  principle  of 
voluntary  renunciation  appears  in  the  "nihil- 
ism" of  Jacopone  da  Todi,  according  to  whom 
the  soul,  to  become  all  love,  renounces  even 
its  own  faculty  of  intellect,  and  enters  into 
the  "darkness": 

"Priuato  lo  ntellecto, 

sguardando  ne  l'arfecto, 

la  luce  che  luce  tenebria  me  pare." 261 

SYMBOLS  OF  THE  JOINT  SERVICE 

Dante  illustrates  this  complementary  serv- 
ice of  the  two  groups  of  spiritual  leaders 
by  a  remarkable  variety  of  symbolic  images 
and  similes.  These  are  none  of  his  own  inven- 
tion, however,  but  derive  ultimately  from 
Scripture,  and  occur  constantly  and  variously 
applied  in  the  writings  of  earlier  and  con- 

249  Par.  xii,  129. 

250  Par.  xi,  iio-iii.  Cf.  St.  Bonaventure,  Sermones  de 
tempore,  Domen.  xiv  post  Pentecost.  II:  "Pusilli  sunt 
homines,  quorum  est  haereditas  regni  coelestis." 

261  Lauda  lxxxxij,  49-51.    Ed.  G.  Ferri,  Roma,  19 10. 


ARIADNE  S  CROWN  79 

temporary  theologians.  Some  of  the  figures 
are  merely  descriptive,  such  as  comparison 
of  the  leaders  of  the  two  orders  to  "cham- 
pions" of  the  army  of  the  Church  Militant,252 
to  "pilots"  of  the  "ship  of  Peter,"  253  to  "shep- 
herds" of  Christ's  sheep,254  to  keepers  of  his 
vineyard,255  or  of  the  "Catholic  orchard."256 
But  the  rest  allegorically  enrich  the  concep- 
tion of  reciprocity  itself.  As  "suns,"  257  the 
two  groups  respectively  light  the  world  with 
wisdom,  and  warm  it  with  charity.258  That 
the  one  act  needs  the  complement  of  the 
other  is  implied  in  the  image  of  the  "holy 
millstone,"  i.  e.  the  first  circle,  which 

"nel  suo  giro  tutta  non  si  volse 
Prima  ch'un'altra  di  cerchio  la  chiuse, 
E  mo  to  a  mo  to  e  canto  a  canto  la  colse."  259 

252  Par.  xii,  37-45. 

253  Par.  xi,  1 18-120. 

254  lb.  124-132. 

255  Par.  xii,  86-87. 

256  lb.  104-105. 

257  Par.  xi,  50. 

258  The  conception  of  St.  Dominic  as  primarily  the  light- 
giver  would  explain  the  implied  prophetic  signification  of 
his  mother's  name  of  Giovanna.  In  the  Vita  Nuova,  cap. 
xxiv,  Giovanna  is  declared  to  be  so  named  to  correspond 
with  Giovanni,  precursor  of  the  true  Light.  So  Giovanna, 
as  his  mother,  is  the  precursor  of  the  light-bringer  Dominic. 

259  Par.  xii,  3-6. 


80       SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

Two  millstones  are  needed  for  grinding. 

This  point  made,  Dante  immediately 
metamorphoses  the  two  concentric  circles 
into  the  likeness  of 

"Due  archi  paralleli  e  concolori .    .    . 
Nascendo  di  quel  d'entro  quel  di  fuori 
(A  guisa  del  parlar  di  quella  vaga 
Ch'amor  consunse,  come  sol  vapori)." 


260 


In  this  sequence  speaks  the  Thomist,  giving 
the  primacy  to  intellect  represented  by  the 
first,  or  inner,  circle,  of  which  the  circle  dedi- 
cated primarily  to  charity  is  "born"  as  a 
reflection,  or  echo.  For  although  charity  is 
before  faith  in  the  "order  of  perfection,"  it  is 
subsequent  in  the  "way  of  generation." 261 
The  rainbow  has  also  a  symbolic  signification 
of  its  own,  making 

"qui  la  gente  esser  presaga 
Per  lo  patto  che  Dio  con  Noe  pose 
Del  mondo,  che  giammai  piu  non  si  allaga."  262 

"By  the  rainbow  is  signified  Christ,  by 
whom    we     are     protected    from    spiritual 

260  lb.  ii,  13-15. 

261  St.  Thomas,  5.  T.  II— II,  iv,  7.    Cf.  Ptirg.  xxix,   127- 
129. 

262  Par.  xii,  16-18. 


ariadne's  crown  8i 

flood." 263  The  two  groups  of  interpreters 
have  revealed  Christ  in  his  twofold  nature 
and  his  twofold  effect  of  light  and  love,  further 
refracted  by  the  Holy  Spirit  into  the  seven 
gifts. 

Immediately,  again,  the  two  bows  turn  in 
Dante's  imagination  into  two  "garlands"  of 
"sempiternal  roses."  264  The  Rose  as  a  symbol 
signifies,  according  to  context,  Christ  or  Mary 
or  the  Church  or  the  faithful  soul.  Christ 
indeed  was  the  "true  Rose,"  and  Mary — or 
the  Church  or  the  faithful  soul — may  be 
conceived  as  a  rose  stained  red  with  Christ's 
blood.  And  red  is  the  color  of  flame,  and  by 
flame  charity  is  signified.265 

Again,  the  two  leaders,  Dominic  and 
Francis — and  by  implication  their  later  repre- 

263  St.  Thomas,  Quol.  iii,  30.  St.  Bonaventure  elaborates 
the  image  in  connection  with  the  Sun:  "Arcus  ille  est  Ver- 
bum  increatum  et  incarnatum,  radius  Solis  ingeniti  excep- 
tus  in  nube  concava  humanitatis  assumptae."  Compend. 
princip.  in  libros  Sentent.  {Opera  ed.  Peltier,  VI,  p.  623.) 

264  Par.  xii,  19-21.    Cf.  Par.  x,  91-93. 

265  Albert.  Mag.,  De  laud.  b.  Mar.  Virg.  XII,  iv,  33-34: 
"Et  nota,  quod  Christus  rosa,  Maria  rosa,  Ecclesia  rosa, 
fidelis  anima  rosa  .  .  .  Christus  .  .  .  vera  fuit  rosa, 
sanguine  proprio  rubricatus.  Ipsa  (Maria)  non  suo  san- 
guine, sed  sanguine  Filii  rubricata  .  .  .  Rosa  enim 
coloris  est  ignei,  et  per  ignem  charitas  designatur."  Cf. 
Purg.  xxix,  122-123. 


82        SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

sentatives  and  spokesmen,  Thomas  and 
Bonaventure — are  called  the  two  wheels  of 
the  chariot  of  the  Church.266  The  straight- 
forward progress  of  the  Church  depends  upon 
the  perfect  circularity  of  its  wheels.  If  either 
get  out  of  plumb,  the  pilot-car  runs  off  the 
road,  and  the  folk  following  are  thrown  into 
confusion,  or — Dante  changes  his  figure: 

"...   tosto  si  vedra  della  ricolta 

Delia  mala  cultura,  quando  il  loglio 
Si  lagnera  che  l'arca  gli  sia  tolta."  267 

In  the  surface-connection,  the  word  area 
means  "bin."  A  special  appropriateness  of  its 
being  taken  away,  if  the  chariot  of  the  Church 
swerves  from  the  path,  will  appear  present- 
ly.268 

ariadne's  crown 

The  final  self-revealing  image  is  formed  by 
the  two  circles  of  gleaming  lights,  conceived 
as  stars.  Dante  likens  the  resulting  "sign  in 
heaven"  to  the  constellation  known  as 
Ariadne's  Crown,  doubled  as  by  a  shadow  of 
itself. 

266  Par.  xii,  106-108. 

267  lb.  1 12-120. 

268  p.  86. 


Ariadne's  crown  83 

"E  Tun  nell'altro  aver  li  raggi  suoi, 

Ed  ambedue  girarsi  per  maniera 

Che  l'uno  andasse  al  prima'  e  l'altro  al  poi,' — 
Ed  avra  quasi  l'ombra  della  vera 

Costellazion  e  della  doppia  danza 

Che  circulava  il  punto  dov'io  era." 269 

The  primacy  of  the  intellectualist  group 
emphasizing  faith  is  so  again  insisted  on. 
Their  common  song,  however,  is  of  the  first 
two  fundamental  articles  on  the  Trinity  and 
the  Incarnation,270  of  which,  according  to  St. 
Thomas,  explicit  profession  is  obligatory.271 


COMPOSITION  OF  ARIADNE  S  CROWN 

The  symbol  of  the  doubled  Crown  serves 
visibly  to  sum  the  lesson  of  the  Sun,  as  later 
the  Cross  in  Mars,272  the  Eagle  in  Jupiter,  and 
the  Ladder  in  Saturn.  The  Crown,  moreover, 

269  Par.  xiii,  16-21. 

270  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  1 1 — II,  clxxiv,  6:  "Fides  nostra  in 
duobus  principaliter  consistit:  primo  quidem  in  vero  Dei 
cognitione  .    .    .  secundo  in  mysterio  Incarnationis  Christi." 

271  S.  T.  II — II,  ii,  7-8.  Cf.  Dante's  own  confession  of 
faith  in  Par.  xxiv,  130-147. 

272  As  one  possible  suggestion  for  these  heavenly  signs 
may  be  cited  the  "burning  Cross"  which  Constantine  saw 
in  the  sky,  and  which  carried  the  motto — "Triumph  by 
this  sign."   Eusebius,  Vita  Constant.  I,  28-29. 


84       SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

is  a  symbol  of  symbols;  and  Dante  carefully 
indicates  these,  its  component  parts : 

"Imagini  chi  bene  intender  cupe 

Quel  ch'io  or  vidi  (e  ritenga  1 'image 
Mentre  ch'io  dico,  come  ferma  rupe) 

Quindici  stelle  che  in  diverse  plage 
Lo  cielo  awivan  di  tanto  sereno 
Che  soperchia  dell'aere  ogni  compage; 

Imagini  quel  Carro  a  cui  il  seno 

Basta  del  nostro  cielo  e  notte  e  giorno, 
Si  ch'al  volger  del  temo  non  vien  meno ; 

Imagini  la  bocca  di  quel  corno 

Che  si  comincia  in  punta  dello  stelo 
A  cui  la  prima  rota  va  dintorno — 

Aver  fatto  di  se  due  segni,  etc."  273 

Dante  solemnly  exhorts  his  reader  to  hold 
to  this  complicated  image  "as  to  a  solid  rock." 
We  may  well  do  so,  for  the  image  indeed  is 
of  the  "rock,"  the  spiritual  foundation,  on 
which  the  Church  is  built. 

We  are  given  then,  (i)  the  fifteen  fixed 
stars  of  the  first  magnitude,  according  to  the 
Ptolemaic  astronomy;  (2)  the  brighter  seven 
of  Ursa  Major,  which  form  the  so-called 
Wain,  or  Carro;  (3)  the  brighter  two  of  Ursa 
Minor,  which,  connected  with  imaginary  lines 
with  "the  point  of  the  axis"  of  the  celestial 

273  Par.  xiii,  1-13. 


ariadne's  crown  85 

sphere,  would  outline  a  "Horn."  Further- 
more, we  are  reminded  that  the  Wain,  or 
Car,  is  perpetually  above  the  horizon  of  the 
habitable  earth,  provided  that  its  "pole"  is 
not  swerved  aside.  I  say  "reminded"  advised- 
ly, for  we  have  heard  already  of  the  Car 
drawn  by  the  Griffin  in  the  procession  of  the 
Church  in  the  Earthly  Paradise,  and  more 
recently  of  the  Chariot  of  which  Dominic  and 
Francis  are  the  two  wheels. 2  74  The  war-chariot , 
biga,  is  the  Church  Militant  against  the 
world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil.  The  car, 
carro,  is  the  Church  conceived  as  the  vehicle, 
or  vessel,  in  which  man  is  conveyed  to  heaven, 
and  of  which  the  prototype  would  be  the  car 
of  Elijah. 275  Also,  as  alternative  to  carro 
Dante  uses  the  word  plaustro.276  Plaustrum 
is  the  term  used  in  the  Vulgate  for  the  car, 
or  cart,  on  which  the  ark  of  the  Covenant 
was   carried   in   the   exodus  of    Israel   from 


27APurg.  xxix.,  106  et  seq.;  Par.  xii,  106  et  seq.  The 
correspondence  of  the  verse  numbers  may  be  noted. 

275  Inf.  xxvi,  35.  Dante  uses  also  the  figure  of  the 
"ship," — e.g.  Par.  xi,  1 17-120.  Cf.  St.  Bonaventure,  IV 
Sent,  xiv,  1,  dub.  1:  ".  .  .  mare  est  mundus  iste  .  .  . 
Navis  per  quam  homo  transit  super  undas  hujus  maris 
est   .    .    .   Ecclesia." 

276  Purg.  xxxii,  95. 


86       SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

Egypt.277  Dante  twice  interprets  that  ex- 
odus to  signify  allegorically  our  redemp- 
tion.278 The  ark  of  the  Covenant  contained 
the  tables  of  the  Law,  Aaron's  rod,  and  the 
pot  of  manna,279  to  which  articles,  as  will  be 
shown  presently,  a  spiritual  signification  was 
given  in  the  Christian  Church.  The  word 
area  is  also  used  by  Dante  for  the  body  of  the 
car  of  the  Church.280  We  may  see,  then,  the 
meaning  of  the  passage  in  which  it  is  said  that 
if  the  car  of  the  Church  swerve  from  the  right 
path,  the  "ark"  shall  be  taken  away  from  the 
"tare."  281  From  the  "tare,"  i.  e.  the  unfaithful 
soul,  shall  be  taken  away  the  ark  of  the  Cov- 
enant by  which  he  might  have  been  saved.282 

277  II  Reg.  6. 

278  Ep.  x,  sect.  7;  Conv.  II,  i,  62-65.  It  is  also  sung  of 
by  the  spirits  entering  into  Purgatory — Purg.  ii,  46.  Cf. 
also  Par.  xxv,  55-57. 

279  Exod.  xxxvii,  1 ;  Hebr.  ix,  4. 

280  Purg.  xxxii,  125. 

281  Par.  xii,  1 12-120. 

282  An  extension  of  this  metaphor  appears  in  the  last 
image  of  the  Comedy: 

"...   gia  volgeva  il  mio  disiro  e  il  velle 
Si  come  ruota  ch'egualmente  e  mossa, 
L'Amor  che  move  il  sole  e  l'altre  stelle." 
The    adverb    egualmente    implies    a    twofold    "equality." 
(1)  Dante's  now  superrationally  ordered  appetitive  nature, 
— ordered,  that  is,  by  a  divinely  infused  intelletto  d'amore, — 
rolls  like  a  perfectly  circular  wheel  evenly  with  the  divine 


ariadne's  crown  87 

The  Wain,  as  a  constellation,  gives  guid- 
ance to  mariners — and  so  figuratively  to  the 
"ship"  of  the  Church — because  the  line 
through  its  two  hinder  stars  points  to  the 

"fiery  wheel"  of  the  Love  which  is  of  God,  and  is  God. 
(Albert  calls  "celestial  essences"  "fiery  wheels" — ignea 
rota — Opera  XXXII,  p.  362.)  (2)  The  two  wheels  by  which 
the  human  soul  is  carried  into  action  are  instinctive  desire 
(disiro)  and  rational  will  (yelle).  By  its  act  of  judgment 
the  rational  will  accepts,  or  rejects,  the  desire  as  a  motive 
of  action.  ("Velle  est  actio  manens  in  voluntate."  St. 
Thomas,  Cont.  Gent.  I,  lxxix,  fin.)  Obviously,  acceptance 
of  any  desire  as  a  motive  of  action  is  rational  only  if  the 
desire  in  question  is  possible  of  attainment.  In  other 
words,  the  two  wheels  of  il  disiro  and  il  velle  must  turn 
"equally."  If  one  wheel  were  smaller  than  the  other,  or  if 
either  were  out  of  plumb  (Cf.  Par.  xii,  112-114),  the  active 
progress  of  the  soul  could  not  be  straightforward  or  even. 
By  his  rapture,  however,  Dante  is  conformed  to  God, 
"la  prima  Equalita"  so  called  because  in  him  all  faculties 
are  perfect  and  therefore  equal.    {Par.  xv,  73-78.) 

Moreover,  in  this  last  image  of  the  poem,  the  saved 
individual  soul  reproduces  in  miniature  the  symbol  of  the 
Church,  its  agency  of  salvation.  It  too  appears  as  a  car, 
consisting  of  a  body  or  "ark"  carried  on  two  wheels,  and 
drawn  by  Christ's  love.  Thus  fittingly,  the  final  cause  of 
the  Church,  which  is  the  salvation  of  the  individual,  is 
visually  conformed  to  the  Church  itself  as  efficient  cause, 
and — as  a  matter  of  literary  symmetry — the  dramatic 
climax  of  the  Purgatory  balances  and  is  bound  in  with 
that  of  the  Paradise.  (In  addition  to  the  sources  of  the 
symbol  indicated  above,  further  warrant  and  allegorical 
enrichment  were  given  by  the  text  of  the  Song  of  Songs  iii, 
9-10:  "Ferculum  fecit  sibi  rex  Salomon  de  lignis  Libani, 
columnas    ejus    fecit    argenteas,    reclinatorium    aureum, 


88        SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

pole-star.283  And  as  the  Wain  is  always  above 
our  horizon,  its  guidance  is  perpetual.284 
And  so  the  guidance  of  the  Church  was 
intended  to  be;  but  she  has  made  perverse 
use  of  her  freedom.  In  the  real  constellation, 
four  stars  outline  the  body  of  the  Wain,  three 
its  pole;  its  wheels  are  left  to  the  imagination. 
Needing  the  wheels  for  his  symbolism,  Dante 
seems  to  have  requisitioned  two  superfluous 
stars  from  the  pole.  It  is  not  the  only  case  of 
his  modifying  physical  fact  to  fit  spiritual  or 
symbolic  truth. 

THE  LIVING  STARS  OF  THE  "MOUTH 
OF  THE  HORN" 

To  enter  into  the  car  of  the  Church,  which 
conveys  him  to  heaven,  man  as  a  penitent 

ascensum  purpureum,  media  charitate  constravit  propter 
filias  Jerusalem."  Cf.  especially  Albert.  Mag.,  op.  cit.  X, 
iv:  Maria  ferculum.  Also,  he  and  other  theologians 
variously  color  the  assumed  allegorical  meaning  of  the 
text  in  their  commentaries  on  the  Song  of  Songs.  The 
matter  is  of  capital  importance  in  connection  with  the 
signification  of  Beatrice  in  the  chariot  in  the  Earthly 
Paradise,  but  to  discuss  that  signification  here  would  carry 
us  too  far  afield.) 

283  Cf.  Purg.  xxx,  1-6. 

284  Cf .  St.  Thomas,  In  Job  ix,  2 :  "Arcturus  quidem  est 
quaedam  constellatio  in  coelo,  quae  vocatur  Ursa  major, 
et  habet  septem  Stellas  claras,  quae  nunquam  nobis 
occidunt,  sed  semper  circumeunt  polum  septentrionalem." 


ariadne's  crown  89 

must  receive  baptism.285  Speaking  through 
the  mouths  of  his  prophets,  God  called  men 
to  repentance  before  he  revealed  himself  in 
Christ.  Two  above  all  were  his  mouthpieces, 
— Moses,  "supreme  prophet"  of  the  Old  Law, 
and  John  the  Baptist,  who,  as  announcing  the 
New  Law,  was  "not  only  prophet,  but  more 
than  prophet."  286  They  par  excellence  would 
be  the  stars  forming  "the  mouth  of  the  horn" 

"Che  si  comincia  in  punto  dello  stelo 
A  cui  la  prima  rota  va  dintorno," — 

"point"  figuratively  one  with  "that  point" 
from  which 

"Dipende  il  cielo  e  tutta  la  natura,"  287 

to  wit,  God.  But  for  other  reasons,  Dante 
substitutes  the  "prophets"  Nathan  and 
Joachim  as  equivalent  in  function. 

THE  FIFTEEN  FIXED  STARS 

The  car  of  the  Church  moves  from  and  to 
Christ.  Her  efficient  cause  is  the  Word 
incarnate;  her  final  cause  the  Word  as  it  is 
with  God.  The  Word  was  made  flesh  in  Mary 

285  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  Ill,  lxviii,  4. 

286  lb.  II— II,  clxxiv,  4;  III,  xxxviii,  1. 

287  Par.  xxviii,  41-42. 


90        SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

by  the  instrumentality  of  the  announcing 
angel  Gabriel,  messenger  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
According  to  St.  Bonaventure,  indeed,  Mary 
conceived  from  the  Word  spoken  into  her  ear 
by  Gabriel. 

"Gaude,  virgo  Maria,  Mater  Christi, 
Quae  per  aurem  concepisti, 
Gabriele  nuntio."  288 

By  this  reckoning,  the  divine  factors  of  the 
Church  are  three:  (i)  Christ  incarnate,  fruit 
of  (2)  Mary  and  (3)  Gabriel,  "angelic  love," 
transmitting  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit.289 

Christ  on  earth  personally  propagated  the 
Word ;  before  returning  to  heaven,  he  appoint- 
ed twelve  apostles  to  propagate  it  in  the  four 
parts  of  the  earth.  Because  they  had  been 
with  Christ,  and  had  received  the  Word 
directly  from  him,  the  apostles  received  and 
gave  a  more  than  human  illumination  to 
mankind,   especially  as  interpreters  of   the 

288  Corona  b.  Mar.  Virg.,  prin°. 

289  Cf.  Par.  ii,  8-9: 

"Minerva  spira,  e  conducemi  Apollo, 
E  nove  Muse  mi  dimostran  l'Orse." 
The     three     divine     illuminations — Minerva     or     Mary, 
Apollo  or  Christ,  and  the  nine  Muses  or  orders  of  angelic 
love  collectively  transmitting  revelation,  inspire  Dante  to 
accept  the  guidance  of  the  Bears  or  the  Church. 


ARIADNE  S  CROWN  9 1 

Word  as  it  is  written  in  Scripture.290  They 
may  therefore  be  reckoned  as  semi-divine 
factors  of  the  Church. 

Now  exactly  these  fifteen  superhuman — 
three  divine  and  twelve  semi-divine  factors, 
or  illuminations,  of  the  Church  are  pointed 
out  to  Dante  in  the  heaven  of  the  Stars.291 
They  appear  there  as  the  fifteen  stars  of  the 
first  magnitude,  but  are  also  described  figura- 
tively according  to  their  respective  virtues. 
Christ  is  called  a  "sun"  as  source  of  all  illum- 
ination.292 In  the  fair  garden  flowering  under 
his  rays,  Mary  is  the  rose  in  which  the  Word 
was  made  flesh,  and  the  apostles  are  lilies, 

"Al  cui  odor  si  prese  il  buon  cammino."  293 
The  rose  is  especially  the  emblem  of  char- 

290  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  I— II,  li,  4,  c:  ".  .  .  Apostolis  dedit 
(Deus)  scientiam  Scripturarum,  et  omnium  linguarum, 
quam  homines  per  studium,  vel  consuetudinem  acquirere 
possunt  licet  non  ita  perfecte." 

2M  Par.  xxiii.    The  description  of  the  fifteen  stars, 

"che  in  diverse  plage 
Lo  cielo  awivan  di  tanto  sereno 
Che  soperchia  dell'aere  ogni  compage," 
{Par.  xiii,  4-6)  may  intend  allegorically  that  the  fifteen 
belong  to  a  higher  sphere  than  that  of  "air,"  i.  e.  mortality. 
Cf.  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  I,  lxviii,  4;  1 1 — 1 1,  clxxv,  3,  4m. 

292  lb.  25-39. 

293  lb.  70-75. 


92        SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

ity;  the  lily  of  faith.294  Gabriel,  angel  of 
the  Annunciation  and  representative  of  "an- 
gelic love,"  is  presented  as  a  flaming  torch 
that  descends  upon  Mary,  and  then  circling, 
describes  a  crown  about  her  head.295  So  is 
indicated  at  once  her  conception  and  her 
coronation,  her  own  flame  of  charity,  angelic 
love,  being  expressed  in  each.296 

These  are  the  divine  illuminations  of  the 
Church  Triumphant : 

"Quivi  trionfa,  sotto  l'alto  Filio 
Di  Dio  e  di  Maria,  di  sua  vittoria, 
E  con  l'antico  e  col  nuovo  concilio, 

Colui  che  tien  le  chiavi  di  tal  gloria."  297 

The  Church  Militant  conforms  to  the  Tri- 
umphant.298 So  illuminations  correspond- 
ent to  these  fifteen  should  appear  in  the 
Church  Militant,  and  therefore  among  the 
living  stars  of  Ariadne's  Crown. 

294  Cf.  Purg.  xxix,  84,  145-150. 

295  lb.  94-108. 

296  Cf.  St.  Bonaventure,  Psalter,  majus  b.  Mar.  virg.  6: 
"Ut  ignis  in  rubo,  et  ros  in  vellere:  descendit  in  te 

aeternum    verbum    Dei    Spiritu    sancto    foecundante: 
obumbravit  tibi  virtus  Altissimi." 

297  Par.  xxiii,  136-139. 

298  Cf.,  e.  g.,  St.  Bonaventure,  II  Sent,  iv,  2. 


ARIADNE  S  CROWN  93 

HUMAN  REPRESENTATIVES  OF  THE 
DIVINE  THREE 

Between  the  three  divine  factors  of  the 
Church — Christ,  Mary,  Gabriel — and  three 
of  the  prophets  of  the  Sun  correspondences 
are  manifest.  Solomon  is  "divinest  light  of 
the  inner  circle,"  2"  circle  closest  to  the  center 
of  divine  truth  in  Beatrice.  His  light  is  also 
"loveliest"  in  charity: 

"La  quinta  luce,  ch'e  tra  noi  piu  bella, 
Spira  di  tale  amor  che  tutto  il  mondo 
Laggiu  ne  gola  di  saper  novella."  300 

Such  praise  might  be  applied  fittingly  to 
Christ  himself.  Indeed,  in  temporal  wisdom 
Solomon  is  before  Christ.301  Furthermore, 
Solomon  was  taken  by  theologians  as  a  type 
of  Christ.302 

Two  others  of  the  inner  circle  are  accredited 
with  more  than  human  powers,  and  so  would 

299  Par.  xiv,  34-35- 

300  Par.  x,  109-111. 

301  Par.  xiii,  34-11 1. 

302  Cf.,  e.  g.,  St.  Bonaventure,  Princip.  sacr.  script., 
circa  fin.  (Vol.  IX,  p.  15) :  ".  .  .in  figura  pacifici  Salomonis 
praefiguratur  Christus."  Also,  Solomon's  mother  in  / 
Kings  ii,  19,  is  identified  with  Mary.  Cf.  Albert.  Mag., 
De  laud.  b.  Mar.  Virg.  XII,  vii,  v,  3. 


94        SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

illumine  more  divinely  than  the  rest.   One  is 

"II  lume  di  quel  cero 
"Che  giuso  in  carne  piu  addentro  vide 
L'angelica  natura  e  il  ministero." 303 

Dionysius  is  clearly  the  inspired  interpreter 
of  "angelic  love."     The  other  is  that  Riccardo 

"Che  a  considerar  fu  piu  che  viro."  304 

His  teaching  would,  in  degree,  possess  that 
direct  and  intuitive  insight  ascribed  to  the 
teaching  of  Mary,  who  from  her  intimate 
knowledge  of  her  Son  was  supposed  not  only 
to  hold  the  key  of  the. Scriptures,  but  even  to 
have  dictated  in  part  the  Gospels  them- 
selves.305 She  was  therefore  especially  com- 
petent to  interpret  the  spiritual  sense  behind 
the  letter.306  And,  as  said,307  Richard  of  St. 
Victor  was  especially  accredited  with  that 
power.   Also,  as  in  Mary,  human  nature  was 

303  Par.  x,  1 1 5-1 1 7. 

304  Par.  x,  132. 

305  Albert.  Mag.,  De  laud.  b.  Mar.  Virg.  IV,  xxxi,  2: 
"...  quatuor  Evangelistas  multa  dictasse  creditur 
eorum  quae  scribebant." 

306  lb.  11:  "Et  abscondita  sub  velamine  litterae  produxit 
in  lucem  splritualis  intelligentiae." 

307  Above,  pp.  29-30. 


ARIADNE  S  CROWN  95 

exalted  above  the  angelic  "by  grace  of  com- 
prehension," 308  so  Richard 

"A  considerar  fu  piu  che  viro." 309 
REPRESENTATIVES  OF  THE  APOSTLES 

Primary  object  of  the  teaching  of  the 
prophets  of  the  Sun  is,  as  we  have  seen,  the 
mystery  of  the  Trinity.  For  the  apostles, 
says  St.  Thomas,  numbered  twelve  that 
three  might  preach  the  divine  Three  in  each 
of  the  four  parts  of  the  world.310  Medieval 
theologians  variously  classified  the  apostles 
according  to  supposed  individual  virtues  or 
special  missions.  Dante  is  in  no  wise  original, 
therefore,  in  making  the  three  principal 
apostles — Peter,  James,  and  John  311 — expon- 
ents especially  of  the  three  theological  vir- 
tues of  faith,  hope,  and  charity.312  As  custo- 
dian of  the  faith,  Peter  holds  the  keys  of 
salvation ; 313  and  transmitted  them  with  the 

308  St.  Bonaventure,  II  Sent,  ix,  I,  5,  c. 

309  Par.  x,  132. 

310  In  Joan.  VI,  i,  9:  ".  .  .  duodecim  esse  dicuntur, 
quia  fides  sanctae  Trinitatis  per  eos  predicanda  erat  in 
quatuor  partibus  mundi." 

311  Cf.  Par.  xxv,  31-33. 

312  Par.  xxiv-xxvi.  Cf.  G.  Busnelli,  il  concetto  e  Vordine 
del  'Paradiso'  dantesco,  191 1,  I,  153-156. 

313  Par.  xxiv,  34-36. 


96       SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

power  they  signify  to  his  successors,  the 
popes.  The  natural  correspondent  to  the 
apostle  Peter,  then,  would  be  the  one  pope  in 
Dante's  list, — Pietro  Ispano,  who  became 
John  XXI.  The  "twelve  booklets"  in  which 
he  shone  below,  by  defining  right  logic,  con- 
trolled the  "argument"  by  which  from  the 
articles  of  faith  is  "syllogized"  Christian 
theology.314  Peter  Lombard  indeed  defines 
the  two  keys  as  "scientia  discernendi"  and 
"potentia  judicandi."  315  Intellectually,  Logic 
forms  these  keys. 

St.  James,  apostle  of  hope,  is  especially 
commended  by  Beatrice  for  his  "bounty."  316 
This,  and  the  fact  that  Dante  uses  verbatim 
Peter  Lombard's  definition  of  hope,  suggest  as 
fit  correspondent  in  apostolic  function  to  St. 
James  this  one  who 

"con  la  poverella 
Offerse  a  Santa  Chiesa  suo  tesoro."317 

There  are,  Dante  declares  to  St.  John,  three 
supreme  authorities  for  God  as  Love,  and  as 
primal  object  of  love,  Aristotle's  argument, 


314  Cf.  Par.  xxiv,  76-78. 

315  IV,  dist.  xviii. 

316  Par.  xxv,  29-30. 

317  Par.  x,  107-108. 


ariadne's  crown  97 

God's  own  testimony  to   Moses,   and  your 

Gospel 

"cominciando 
L'alto  preconio,  che  grida  l'arcano 
Di  qui  laggiu  sopra  ogni  altro  bando." 3l8 

"The  secret,"  or  mystery,  is  that  of  the  Incar- 
nation, supreme  act  of  divine  love.  The  pur- 
pose of  the  Gospel  of  St.  John,  according  to 
St.  Bonaventure,  is  to  define  the  union  of  the 
two  natures  in  Christ  incarnate.319  Of  Dante's 
doctors  one  was  celebrated  for  his  discussion 
of  this  mystery,  to  wit,  St.  Anselm  in  his 
Cur  Deus  Homo.  To  throw  light  upon  the 
mystery  of  the  Incarnation  was  his  apostolic 
mission  as  it  was  St.  John's,  the  beloved  of 
Christ. 

St.  Andrew,  who  converted  to  Christ  his 
brother  Peter  and  suffered  martyrdom  by 
crucifixion,  and  whose  name  signifies  "virilis," 
i.  e.  willingness  "to  fight  for  justice  even  unto 
death,"  32°  is  also  especially  commended  for 
having  by  preaching  and  practice  shown  up 
the  vanity  of  this  world.321  From  every  angle, 

318  Par.  xxvi,  37-45. 

319  In  evang.  Joan,  cap.  i,  prin°. 

320  St.  Bonaventure,  Expos.  Missae,  iv,  circa  fin. 

821  St.  Bonaventure,  Sermones  de  Sanctis,  De  S.  Andrea 
Apos.,  sermo  I. 


98        SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

therefore,  St.  Andrew's  apostolic  mission  is 
paralleled  in  principle  by  the  martyred  St. 
Severinus,  or  Boethius,  who,  having  seen  the 
true  good, 

"II  mondo  fallace 
Fa  manifesto  a  chi  di  lei  ben  ode." 322 

In  the  names  of  Andrew  and  Philip,  says 
St.  Thomas,  may  be  understood  two  things 
needful  for  preachers  who  would  lead  men  to 
Christ:  (i)  the  discretion  of  well-ordered 
speaking,  which  is  indicated  in  the  name 
Philip  as  interpreted  "os  larnpadis,"  "mouth 
of  splendor;"  (2)  the  virtue  of  good  opera- 
tion, as  denoted  in  the  name  Andrew  as  inter- 
preted "virile."  323  For  eloquence  as  a  preacher 
especially  St.  John  Chrysostom  was  famous, 
and  for  it  received  his  cognomen  meaning 
"mouth  of  gold." 

The  name  of  the  apostle  Matthew  is  inter- 
preted "donatus;"  "by  which,"  says  St.  Bon- 
aventure,  "is  implied  that  doctrine  should  be 
edificatory  toward  what  is  to  be  done  (ad 

322  Par.  x,  125-126. 

323  jn  Joan.  XII,  iv,  3.  Cf.  St.  Bonaventure,  In  Luc.  vi, 
me°:  "Philippum,  qui  interpretatur  os  larnpadis.  In  quo 
insinuatur,  quod  doctrina  episcopalis  debet  esse  lucida, 
quantum  ad  intellectum  audientium,  etc." 


ARIADNE  S  CROWN  99 

operandum)  .  .  .  For  the  word  of  the 
preacher  confers  the  virtue  of  grace  of  preach- 
ing and  edification." 324  Also,  St.  Matthew 
illustrates  the  saying  that  the  humble  shall 
be  exalted,  since  from  a  publican  he  was 
exalted  to  be  an  apostle.325  So  the  humble 
grammarian  Donatus  has  been  exalted  to  be 
an  indispensable  authority  in  that  doctrine, 
or  discipline,  which  edifies,  or  builds  up,  the 
operation,  or  discourse,  of  the  preacher. 
Certainly,  at  least  neither  Dante  nor  his 
contemporaries  were  averse  to  such  play  on 
words  and  names. 

The  name  of  Bartholomew  is  interpreted 
"filius  suspendentis  aquas"  i.  e.  Christ.326 
"Aquas"  is  variously  understood,  but  com- 
monly as  "waters  of  wisdom."  Waters  are 
"suspended"  by  their  sources.  The  authority 
on  the  "sources"  of  the  "waters  of  wisdom" 
was  St.  Isidore's  Origines,  seu  Etymologiae. 

"Thomas  is  interpreted  abyssus;  by  which 
is  understood  profundity  of  erudition  in  what 
is  to  be  believed  (credendorum) ." 327  The 
natural  correspondent  would  be  Albertus 
Magnus,  doctor  universalis. 

324  lb. 

325  lb.  v,  circa  fin. 

526  St.  Thomas,  In  Matt,  x,  prin°. 
327  St.  Bonaventure,  In  Luc.  vi,  me°. 


100     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

The  remaining  four  apostles  are  classified 
together  by  St.  Bonaventure  as  examples  of 
"good  conversation"  {conversatio  bona)?2* 
"James,  which  is  interpreted  "wrestler"  (lucta- 
tor),  son  of  Alphaeus,  which  is  interpreted 
"fleeing,"  signifies  the  example  of  perfect 
poverty.  Wherefore  Gregory:  "Let  him  who 
enters  into  conflict  with  the  devil,  cast  away 
his  clothing,  lest  he  succumb.  But  what  are 
all  earthly  things,  if  not  certain  vestments 
of  the  body."  St.  Francis  literally  and  figura- 
tively cast  away  his  clothing,  and  wrestled 
especially  with  the  devil  in  person  of  the 
Soldan.   And  Illuminato  was  there  with  him. 

Simon,  interpreted  "obedient,"  surnamed 
Zelotes,  that  is,  "emulator,"  gave  example  of 
"perfect  humility"  with  the  emulation  of 
ordered  charity.  And  such  was  the  quality 
of  the  second  of  those  two 

"Che  fur  dei  primi  scalzi  poverelli 
Che  nel  capestro  a  Dio  si  fero  amici," 329 

the    humble    and    loving    gardener    of    the 
convent, — Augustin . 

Judas,  i.  e.  "confessing"  (confitens),  brother 
of  James,  is  example  of  brotherly  action,  to 

3-8  lb. 

329  Par.  xii,  131-132. 


ARIADNE  S  CROWN  JOI 

whom  apply  the  words  of  Deuteronomy 
xxxiii,  7 :  "His  hands  shall  fight  for  him,  and 
he  will  be  his  aid  against  his  adversaries."  a30 
And  "he  shall  go  up  before  others  into  the 
battle."  So  Orosius  was  early  in  the  fight 
against  the  traducers  of  Christianity,  lending 
his  aid  to  St.  Augustine.331 

Lastly,  Judas  Iscariot  is  interpreted  "mind- 
ful of  death"  (memoria  mortis)  "in  which  is 
signified  example  of  mortification  of  the 
flesh."  But,  continues  St.  Bonaventure,  this 
virtue  is  the  natural  weapon  of  the  dissembler ; 
and  he  quotes  St.  Paul 332  on  the  prevalence 
in  these  last  perilous  days  of  traitors  "having 
a  form  of  godliness,  but  denying  the  power 
thereof."  So  in  place  of  the  traitor  Judas  was 
set  Matthias,  that  is,  "the  gift  of  the  Lord." 
Sigier  combines  both  Judas  and  Matthias. 
He  goes  "mindful  of  death," 

"in  pensieri 
Gravi,  a  morir  gli  parve  venir  tardo."  333 

In  the  Impossibilia,  as  shown  above,334  he 
syllogizes  blasphemous  conclusions,  acting  in 

330  Vulgate. 

331  Par.  x,  118-120. 

332  j j  Tim.  iii,  1  et  seq. 

333  Par.  x,  134-135. 

334  pp.  49  et  seq. 


102     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

so  far  the  traitor  Judas,  making  thereafter, 
however,  the  gift  of  correction  and  true  con- 
clusion, so  superseding  Judas  in  Matthias. 
It  is  possible,  also,  that  Dante  would  imply 
in  Sigier  an  originally  false,  or  Judas-like, 
interpretation  of  Aristotle  after  Averroes, 
later  recanted  and  repented.335 

One  apostle — the  apostle  above  all 336 — 
St.  Paul,  is  not  included  in  this  scheme. 
Dante,  I  think,  had  not  forgotten  him,  but 
consistently,  more  even  in  the  Comedy  than 
in  the  New  Life,  conceives  himself  as  carrying 
on  the  mission  of  St.  Paul.  The  supreme 
correspondence  would  be  of  course  their 
common  vision  of  God  in  rapture,  but  Dante 
gives  many  others.  His  claim  may  be  only 
poetic  feigning,  though  by  no  means  certainly 
so;  but  in  any  case  the  correspondence  pro- 
foundly affects  the  poem  itself.  Dante  him- 
self, for  instance,  exemplifies  as  protagonist 
many  if  not  most  of  the  special  gifts  and 
illuminations  possessed  severally  by  his 
twenty-four  prophets  of  the  Sun;  and  the 


335  Cf.  above,  pp.  49  et  seq. 

336  Cf.  St.  Thomas,  Opus,  lxxiii,  1:  ".  .  .  theologus  hoc 
nomen  apostolus,  determinat  ad  missos  speciales  Christi, 
et  adhue  singulariter  ad  personam  Pauli,  quando  sine 
adjectione  dicitur." 


ARIADNE  S  CROWN  IO3 

poem  itself  is  a  sutnma,  or  epitome,  of  their 
joint  wisdom  further  illumined  by  the  "grace 
freely  given"  of  eloquence. 


REPRESENTATIVES  OF  THE  CAR 

There  remains  to  identify  the  Wain,  or  car 
of  the  Church  Militant  on  earth.  The  two 
which  represent  the  wheels  must,  as  already 
said,  be  Thomas  and  Bonaventure  as  chief 
disciples  of  the  founders  of  the  two  orders. 
St.  Bonaventure,  as  stressing  especially  the 
virtue  of  charity,  would  represent  the  right 
wheel;  for  Dante  assigns  to  the  right  wheel 
the  theological  virtues  of  which  the  chief  is 
charity.337  St.  Bonaventure  was  also  called 
doctor  seraphicus  for  being  seraphic  in  char- 
ity.338 Also,  St.  Thomas  properly  represents 
the  left  wheel,  since  to  this  are  assigned  the 
cardinal  virtues,  of  which  the  chief  is  pru- 
dence, and  prudence  in  the  more  general 
sense  applies  to  all  human  cognition,  specula- 
tive as  well  as  practical.  As  speculative, 
prudence  is  that  "provision"  (proculvisio)  of 
God  which  is  faith.339  His  cognomen  of  doctor 

337  Purg.  xxix,  121-126. 

338  Cf.  Par.  xi,  37. 

339  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  II— II,  xlvii,  2,  2m. 


104     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

angelicus  implies  his  more  than  human 
insight  into  things  above  sense;  for  the  com- 
mon virtue  of  all  angels  is  revelation,  which  is 
transmitted  by  them  to  men,  and  more  fully 
to  "superior  men  whom  it  behooves  to  instruct 
others."  340 

While  on  earth,  and  still  from  heaven, 
Christ  gave  and  gives  true  direction  to  the 
Church.  By  his  humanity  he  was  subject  to 
divine  law ;  by  his  divinity  he  is  divine  law.341 
As  vicariously  authorized,  the  popes  and 
councils  of  the  Church  have  interpreted  this 
divine  law,  and  decreed  special  enactments 
of  it.  These  directive  interpretations  and 
decrees  were  codified  by  Gratian  in  his 
Decretum.  He  may  therefore  be  said  to  have 
taken  the  place  of  the  Grifhn  as  directive  of 
the  Car  of  the  Church,  and  also  as  properly 
distinguishing  between  the  two  "forums"  of 
the  two-natured  Law  governing  mankind, 
canon  and  civil.  In  other  words,  his  star 
signifies  the  guiding  pole  (timone)  of  the  Car. 

The  body  of  the  Car  symbolizes,  as  already 
said,  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant,  containing  (i) 
the  tables  of  the  Law,  (2)  the  rod  of  Aaron, 

340  St.  Thomas,  5.  T.  II— II,  ii,  2,  c;  Opus.  Ix  (De  human. 
Christi),  1. 

341  St.  Thomas,  5.  T.  I— II,  xciii,  1,  2m;  4,  2m. 


ARIADNE  S  CROWN  105 

(3)  the  pot  of  manna.  This  sacred  ark  was  set 
by  Solomon  in  the  inner  tabernacle,  or  holy  of 
holies,  of  the  Temple.  Both  it  and  its  con- 
tents were  elaborately  and  variously  inter- 
preted by  medieval  churchmen.342  According 
to  St.  Bonaventure,343  the  ark  signifies  the 
"library,"  or  repository  (biblioteca)  of  the 
Scriptures;  its  contents  their  contents  as 
interpreted  (i)  historically,  as  symbolized  in 
the  two  "tables"  conceived  as  "testimonies  ;"344 

(2)  mystically,  as  symbolized  in  the  pot  of 
manna,  i.  e.  "bread  of  angels,"  or  wisdom;345 

(3)  morally,  as  symbolized  in  Aaron's  rod.346 
(1)  Representative  of  the  historical  inter- 
pretation are  Pietro  Mangiadore  with  his 
Historia  Scholastica,  which,  bringing  the 
history  of  the  Church  down  to  the  time  of  the 
Apostles,  gives  testimony  of  the  Old  Dis- 
pensation,  and   Bede  with  his  Historia  ec- 

342  Cf.,  e.  g.,  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  I— II,  cii,  6m;  In  Hebr.  ii. 
3«  jn  Psalter,  lxvii. 

344  Cf.  Albert.  Mag.,  Be  laud.  b.  Mar.  Virg.  X,  i,  6: 
"...  tabulas  in  quibus  scriptum  erat  testamentum,  cum 
quaecumque  ibi  erant,  possunt  dici  testimonial' 

345  Cf.  lb.  XII,  v,  11,4. 

346  Cf.  also,  St.  Bonaventure,  Sermo  in  die  Pentecostes  xii: 
"Unde  virga  Aaron  florem  et  fructum  simul  habuit,  quia 
in  rectitudine  fidei  bonae  voluntatis  non  est  sine  fructu 
boni  operis." 


106     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

clesiastica  gentis  Anglorum,  which  gives  testi- 
mony of  the  New. 

(2)  Representative  of  the  mystical  inter- 
pretation is  Hugh  of  St.  Victor.347 

(3)  Representative  of  the  moral  interpre- 
tation is  Rabanus,  especially  in  the  teaching 
of  his  school  and  the  government  of  his 
convent. 

ariadne's  crown  and  Beatrice 

According  to  the  interpreted  symbolism  of 
Revelations  iv,  io,348  the  twenty-four  "elders" 
may  be  conceived  as  casting  their  "crowns" 
i.  e.  their  works  of  illumination,  before  the 
throne  of  God.  Dante,  however,  at  least  adds 
a  more  ingenious  and  graphic  symbolism. 
Such  emulative  invention  was  the  rule  among 
theological  writers.  Conceiving  his  person- 
ages, or  their  illuminating  works,  as  stars,349 
he  first  identifies  these  with  two  classes  of 
real  stars,  namely,  those  fixed  in  the  heavens 
like  diviner  natures,  and  those  which,  con- 

347  Cf.  above,  p.  30.  Also,  one  of  Hugh's  works  was 
entitled  De  archa  mystica. 

348  See  above,  p.  30. 

349  Cf.  Conv.  II,  xvi,  9-12:  ".  .  .in  ciascuna  scienza  la 
scritture  e  Stella  piena  di  luce,  la  quale  quella  scienza 
dimostra." 


ariadne's  crown  107 

stellated  and  revolving  around  the  pole-star, 
serve  as  guides  to  mankind;  and  then 
imagines  these  stars  gathering  and  singing 
together  to  form  the  crown  of  Ariadne,  who 
signifies  at  once  the  Church  and  the  Mother 
of  the  Church,  Mary,  and  the  faithful  soul, 
daughter  of  the  Church.  For  Ariadne, 
daughter  of  King  Minos,  regent  of  the  lower 
world,  i.  e.  the  earth,  was  raised  to  heaven 
and  crowned  by  Bacchus,  i.  e.  Christ. 

A  much  stressed  text  is  that  of  Revelations 
xii,  1 :  "Signum  magnum  apparuit  in  coelo, 
mulier  amicta  sole,  et  luna  sub  pedibus  ejus, 
et  in  capite  ejus  corona  stellar um  duodecim." 
St.  Bonaventure  declares  it  preeminent  among 
"signs"  given  to  men : 

"Vidit  Joannes  mysticum 
Signum  quoddam  mirabile, 
Quod  in  coelo  propheticum 
Apparuit  notabile. 
Nunquam  fuerat  simile 
Prophetis  aenigmaticum 
Signum  datum,  quod  utile, 
Praecedens  ut  mirificum." 350 

By  one  reading,  the  "woman  clothed  with  the 
Sun,"  is  the  "contemplative  soul,"  the  Moon 


350 


Laus  b.  Virg.  Mar. 


108     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

under  her  feet  is  the  Church  Militant — to 
give  needed  support.351  The  crown  which 
rewards  the  soul  would  then  be  of  the  twelve 
stars  as  signifying  the  twelve  "considerations" 
which  "adorn  the  soul."  352  By  another  read- 
ing, the  Woman  is  the  Church  herself,  trampl- 
ing underfoot  the  Moon,  i.e.  unstable  worldly 
things.  The  twelve  stars  of  her  crown  become 
the  twelve  articles  of  faith,353  or  the  saints 

351  St.  Bonaventure,  Ilium,  eccles.,  sermo  xxii,  prin°: 
"Sicut  enim  anima  contemplativa  est  mulier  bona  amicta 
Sole,  ita  Luna  est  sub  pedibus  ejus  non  ad  conculcandum, 
sed  ad  stabiliendum,  scilicet  militans  Ecclesia.  Philosophi 
multa  consideraverunt  de  Sole  aeterno;  sed  nihil  eis 
valuit,  quia  non  fuit  Luna  sub  pedibus." 

352  lb.  St.  Bonaventure  lists  these  as  (i)  consideratio 
corporalium  naturarum,  (2)  spiritualium  substantiarum, 
(3)  intellectualium  scientiarum,  (4)  affectualium  virtutum, 

(5)  institutarum  divinitus  legum,  (6)  infusarum  divinitus 
gratiarum,  (7)  irrevocab ilium  judiciorum,  (8)  incompre- 
hensibilium  misericordiarum,  (9)  remunerabilium  meri- 
torum,  (10)  praemiantium  praemiorum,  (11)  temporalium 
decursuum,  (12)  aeternalium  rationum.  If  Dante,  like 
his  theological  masters,  insisted  upon  driving  home  every 
possible  correspondence,  he  might  have  picked  twelve  of 
his  "stars"  to  illustrate  especially  these  several  "considera- 
tions" crowning  Dante's  faithful  soul:  as  thus,  (1)  Albert, 
(2)  Dionysius,   (3)  Anselm,   (4)  Bonaventure,   (5)  Gratian, 

(6)  Solomon,  (7)  Thomas,  (8)  Sigier  the  saved  heretic,  (9) 
Boethius,  (10)  Bede?,  (11)  Joachim,  (12)  Richard. 

353  St.  Bonaventure,  Sermo  in  die  S.  Pentecost.,  iii. 
In  Compend.  theolog.  veritatis,  V,  xxi,  he  conceives  the 
mission  of  each   apostle  as  concerning  particularly  one 


ARIADNE  S  CROWN  IO9 

and  doctors  of  the  Church.354  If  the  "woman 
clothed  with  the  Sun"  is  taken  as  Mary,  the 
twelve  stars  would  be  the  totality  of  the 
saints  saved  through  her,  or,  more  specifically, 
her  twelve  prerogatives,  or — doubled  to  con- 
form to  the  twenty-four  elders — the  patri- 
archs of  the  Old  Testament  and  the  apostles 
of  the  New.355  Also,  as  "clothed  with  the  Sun," 
Mary  is  not  "naked," — that  is,  not  a  dis- 
embodied spirit, — but  clothed  with  the  glori- 
fied body.356 

Out  of  these  various  elements,  as  I  con- 
ceive, Dante  built  up  his  independent  image, 
or  "sign."  Beatrice,  as  faithful  one  of  Mary, 
is  presented  in  heaven  "clothed  with  the  Sun" 
of  the  glorified  body,  and  crowned  with  the 
twelve  stars  doubled  to  represent  the  two 
schools  of  prophets  illuminating  the  Church. 
So  far  as  the  first  school,  the  Thomists, 
abides  principally  in  faith  of  the  mind,  it  has 
likeness  with  the  spirit  of  the  Old  Testament, 

article  of  faith.  Similarly,  Dante  might  so  conceive  his 
prophets,  so  far  as  twelve  of  them  correspond  to  the 
apostles. 

354  Albert.  Mag.,  op.  cit.  XII,  vii,  v,  11. 

355  lb.  9. 

356  lb.  4-5.  "Ecce  qualiter  assumpta,  scilicet  non  nuda, 
id  est,  tantum  in  anima,  sed  amicta  sole,  id  est,  glorificato 
corpore." 


110     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

whereas  the  second  school,  the  Augustinians, 
abiding  principally  in  charity  of  the  will,  has 
likeness  with  the  spirit  of  the  New.  The 
triple  crown  would  indicate  for  Beatrice — 
both  as  representative  of  the  Church  and  as 
individual  saved  soul —  (i)  the  aurea  of 
essential  reward,  or  perfecting  of  faith  in 
knowledge,  (2)  the  aureole  of  "doctor,"  which 
she  was  for  Dante,  and  (3)  the  glory  of  the 
new  body,  conceived  as  a  second  aureole.357 
Her  aureole  of  "doctor"  is  in  effect  implied  in 
the  garland  of  olive,  Minerva's  leaf,  worn  by 
her  when  she  appeared  to  Dante  in  the 
Earthly  Paradise.358  "The  oil  of  the  olive 
signifies,"  says  Albert,  "the  oil  of  wisdom  for 
instructing  novices.  With  this  oil  are  filled 
empty  vessels  (IV  Regum  iv,  4) :  for  the 
valleys,  that  is,  the  humble  shall  abound  in 
the  grain  of  wisdom,  of  which  is  made  the 
bread  of  life."  359 

The  garland  of  olive,  indeed,  can  by  itself 
symbolize  the  three  aureoles  merited  severally 
by  doctors,  virgins,  and  martyrs.    As  its  oil 

357  Cf.  above,  pp.  14-15. 

358  Purg.  xxx,  31,  68. 

359  Op.  cit.  XII,  vi,  ii,  3.  Like  the  Virgin,  Beatrice  is 
"umile  ed  alta  piu  che  creatura."  {Par.  xxxiii,  2.)  Dante 
calls  the  wisdom  he  has  received  from  her  "pan  degli 
angeli."   {Par.  ii,  11.) 


ARIADNE  S  CROWN  III 

signifies  wisdom  above  sense,  dower  of 
doctors,  and  its  "leaves"  words  of  evangelical 
preaching,  so  its  "foliage"  {coma)  is  virginity 
to  which  is  due  the  aureole.360  Mary,  of 
course,  was  recognized  as  virgin  of  virgins, 
and  martyr  of  martyrs,  but  it  may  seem 
incongruous  for  Dante  to  attribute,  however 
poetically,  the  aureoles  of  virginity  and 
martyrdom  to  his  lady  married  as  she  was 
and  dying  in  her  bed.  Virgin  he  actually  calls 
her,  however: 

"Ma  poi  che  l'altre  vergini  dier  loco 
A  lei  {Beatrice)  di  dir,  etc." 361 

The  olive,  says  Albert  again,  "has  a  bitter 
root,"  signifying  that  the  just  man  should 
"refuse  the  kingdom  of  this  world,  and  run 
to  meet  his  crucifiers  {crucifixoribus  suis), 
that  is,  the  tribulations  of  this  world,  and  say 
with  Lot,  Genes,  xix,  19:  Non  possum  in 
monte  salvari."™2  Mary  was  a  martyr,  not  in 
the  body,  but  in  the  "spirit."  363  God,  who 
scrutinizes  the  heart,  may  impute  the  merit 
of  martyrdom  to  one  in  will  faithful  unto 
death,    even    if    his    faith    be    not    actually 

360  Albert.  Mag.,  loc.  cit.  I. 

361  Purg.  xxxiii,  7-8. 

362  Loc.  cit.  6. 

353  Albert.  Mag.,  op.  cit.  Ill,  xii,  1. 


112     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

brought  to  test.  So  St.  Thomas  rules,  and 
accepts  St.  Lucia,  whom  Dante  associates 
with  Beatrice,  as  his  authority.364  At  least, 
Beatrice  was  taken  from  this  life  in  her  young 
strength.  Also,  she  voluntarily  descended  in- 
to hell  to  save  Dante. 

Finally,  the  threefold  circle  described  about 
her,  the  "woman  clothed  with  the  Sun,"  is  a 
"shadowy  preface"  of  that  other  threefold 
circle  to  be  seen  by  Dante  in  the  Empyrean 
as  symbol  of  the  Trinity.365  Like  Mary, 
Beatrice  is  enwrapped  or  involved,  as  it  were, 
immediately  in  the  Godhead,  or — to  recur  to 
Dante's  earlier  metaphor — she  is  the  im- 
mediate product  of  which  the  sole  factor  is 
the  divine  Three,  and  so  she  is  a  Nine,  number 
of  miracle.366 

So  as  Angelic  Love,  in  the  person  of 
Gabriel,  crowns  Mary  triumphant  with  his 
own  circling  glory,367  all  the  illuminations  of 
the  Church,  in  the  persons  of  doctors,  saints, 
and  angels,  focus  their  circling  glory  upon 
Dante's  lady  to  signify  her  miraculous  like- 
ness in  quality,  if  not  in  degree,  to  the  very 

364  5.  T.  II— II,  cxxiv,  4,  2m. 

365  Par.  xxxiii,  115  et  seq. 

366  Vita  Nuova,  xxix. 

367  Par.  xxiii,  94  et  seq. 


ARIADNE  S  CROWN  113 

Mother  of  God.  Nowhere  more  audaciously 
and  magnificently  than  in  the  implications  of 
this,  his  canticle  of  the  Sun,  has  Dante  ful- 
filled his  promise  to  say  of  her  what  never  yet 
has  been  said  of  any  woman. 


THE   "THREE   BLESSED  LADIES"  OF 
THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

"Perd  se  il  caldo  Amor  lo  chiara  Vista 
Delia  prima  Virtu  dispone  e  segna, 
Tutta  la  perfezion  quivi  s'acquista." 

Par.  xiii,  79-81. 

When  Virgil  first  offers  escape  from  the 
Dark  Wood  by  the  roundabout  way  through 
Hell  and  Purgatory,  Dante  accepts  at  once 
with  grateful  relief.  But  as  the  night  shadows 
gather,  his  resolution  falters.  What  Virgil 
proposed  had  indeed  been  done  by  mortal 
men.  Virgil's  own  hero,  Aeneas,  had  de- 
scended into  Hell ;  St.  Paul  had  been  caught 
up  into  the  Third  Heaven;  and  both  had 
come  back  to  earthly  life.  But,  exclaimed 
Dante, 

"lo  non  Enea,  io  non  Paolo  sono."  l 

Virgil  meets  this  pusillanimous  doubt 2 
by  assuring  Dante  that  divine  aid  will  be 
given.    Indeed,  as  Virgil  will  tell  the  various 

1  Inf.  ii,  32. 

2  lb.  43-48. 

114 


THE  "THREE  BLESSED  LADIES"  1 1 5 

warders  of  the  lower  world — Charon,  Minos, 
Plutus,  Chiron,  Malacoda — and,  more  re- 
spectfully, Cato,  guardian  of  the  Mount,  the 
journey  is  willed  on  high.3  He  himself  is  but 
the  messenger  and  instrument  of  Beatrice. 
She  in  turn  had  been  incited  to  aid  Dante  by 
Lucia;  Lucia  by  the  Virgin  Mary.4  Mary 
alone  seems  to  have  seen  Dante's  plight,  and 
to  have  acted  upon  her  own  initiative.  And 
in  the  field  in  which  she  saw  and  acted,  that  of 
the  saving  of  a  sinner,  hers  was  the  right  of 
initiative.  In  the  divine  court,  it  was  held, 
there  are  two  jurisdictions, — one  of  justice, 
and  one  of  mercy.  Mary  presides  over  the 
latter,  and  when  she  chooses  to  intervene,  her 
decision  is  final.5  Indeed,  it  is  only  filial  obe- 
dience for  Christ  to  yield  to  his  mother's  will, 
especially  in  a  case  of  mercy.6   To  save  her 

3 Inf.  iii,  95-96;  v,  23-24;  vii,  10-12;  xii,  88-89;  xxi» 
79-83;  Purg.  i,  52-84. 

4  Inf.  ii,  94-H4- 

5  "Regnum  Dei  consistit  in  duobus,  scilicet  in  miseri- 
cordia  et  justitia:  et  filius  Dei  sibi  quasi  retinuit  justitiam 
velut  dimidiam  partem  regni,  matri  concessit  misericordiam 
quasi  dimidiam  aliam  partem."  Albertus  Magnus,  De 
laudibus  b.  Mariae  Virginis,  VI,  xiii,  3. 

6  "Scio  bene,  quod  post  sententiam  non  est  appellatio  ad 
majorem:  quia,  et  si  judex  sit  homo  tuus  Filius,  est  tamen 
et  Deus  Filius  Dei  Patris.  Non  enim  video,  Domina, 
quomodo  aliquid  tibi  valeat  denegare,  qui  vult,  ut  per  te 


Il6     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

servants,  she  may  not  merely  supplicate,  but 
even  maternally  command  her  Son.7 

The  natural  consequence  of  this  extension 
of  Mary's  saving  power  was  to  make  her  the 
final  arbiter  of  human  fate.  To  gain  her  grace 
assured  salvation;  to  lose  it  damnation.  So 
St.  Bernard  advises  Dante: 

"Riguarda  omai  nella  faccia  ch'a  Cristo 
Piu  si  somiglia,  che  la  sua  chiarezza 
Sola  ti  pud  disporre  a  veder  Cristo."  8 

Fittingly,  therefore,  Dante's  story  of  salva- 
tion starts  with  Mary's  intervention  in  his 
mortal  need,  and  ends  with  her  securing  for 
him  in  foretaste  the  final  reward  of  beatitude. 
When  Virgil  rebukes  Charon's  natural  reluc- 

coelestem  patriam  habeamus.  Hoc  est  enim  quod  cupit 
Deus  noster;  hoc  est  quod  desiderat;  hoc  est  pro  quo  te 
matrem  constituit  advocatam.  Non  ergo  restat,  Domina, 
nisi  ut  illos  tuos  misericordes  oculos  ad  nos  convertas." 
St.  Bona  venture,  Stimulus  Amoris,  III,  xix,  fi. 

7  ".  .  .  pro  salute  famulantium  sibi,  non  solum  potest 
Filio  supplicare  sicut  alii  sancti,  sed  etiam  potest  auctoritate 
materna  eidem  imperare."  Albert.  Mag.,  op.  cit.  II,  i,  21. 
Cf.  ib.  Ill,  xi. 

8  Par.  xxxii,  85-87.  Cf.  Par.  xxxiii,  13-15.  Also, 
Albert.  Mag.,  op.  cit.  XII,  vi,  xx,  19:  "...  nullus  ad 
illam  beatitudinem  quae  Christus  est,  praevalet  intrare, 
nisi  sit  in  conductu  hujus  virgae."  Also,  St.  Bonaventure, 
Psalterium  majus  b.  Mar.  Virg.,  Ps.  117:  "Via  veniendi  ad 
Christum  est  appropinquare  ad  illam." 


THE  "THREE  BLESSED  LADIES"  117 

tance  to  ferry  the  living  Dante,  by  declaring 
it  willed  on  high,  he  means  that  Mary  wills  it. 
So  Cato  later  recognizes: 

".    .    .   se  donna  del  ciel  ti  move  e  regge, 

Come  tu  di',  non  c'e  mestier  lusinghe : 
Bastiti  ben  che  per  lei  ci  richegge."  9 

Virgil  had  meant  Beatrice,  but  she  was  sent 
by  Mary.  Moreover,  St.  Bernard  applies  to 
Mary  the  selfsame  formula  that  Virgil  had 
used  with  Charon  and  Minos.  Virgil  had 
said: 

"Vuolsi  cosi  cola  dove  si  puote 
Cio  che  si  vuole."  10 

St.  Bernard  says: 

"Ancor  ti  prego,  Regina  che  puoi 
Cid  che  tu  vuoli."  u 

Such  verbal  correspondences  are  in  Dante's 
writings  rarely  accidental. 

It  is  no  mere  poetic  fancy,  then,  but  soberly 
accepted  faith  for  Dante  to  set  the  Virgin- 
Mother — so  far  as  his,  as  everyman's,  salva- 
tion is  concerned — in  the  very  place  of  the 
First  Person  of  the  Trinity,  the  Father 

"Lo  primo  ed  ineffabile  Valore."  12 

9  Purg.  i,  91-93. 

10  Inf.  iii,  94-96;  v,  23-2.1. 

11  Par.  xxxiii,  34-35. 

12  Par.  x,  3. 


Il8     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

In  Dante's  presentation,  she  is,  like  God 
the  Father,  immobile.13  Unlike  the  miracle- 
working  visitant  of  popular  legend,  she  per- 
forms her  acts  of  mercy  vicariously.  Regally, 
as  befitting  the  Queen  of  Heaven  and  Empress 
of  the  Celestial,  Terrestrial,  and  Infernal 
Kingdoms,14  she  summons  Lucia  to  her 
presence,  and  briefly  commends  the  dis- 
tressed Dante  to  her  care : 

"Questa  chiese  Lucia  in  suo  dimando 
E  disse:  'Or  ha  bisogno  il  tuo  fedele 
Di  te,  ed  io  a  te  lo  raccomando'."  15 

Then,  apparently,  Mary  does  nothing  more 
about  it.  Execution  of  her  merciful  provi- 
dence is  left  to  her  agents,  Lucia  and  Bea- 
trice. She  herself  remains  hieratically  aloof  in 
her  heaven,  watchful  perhaps,  but  per- 
sonally, it  would  seem,  inactive.  Thus,  at 
first  sight,  there  appears  a  certain  analogy 
between  her  dramatic  function  in  the  Divine 
Comedy  and  that  of  Gloriana  in  Spenser's 
Faerie  Queene.    So  Gloriana  sends  forth  the 

13  Cf.  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  I,  lxv,  i,  im:  ".  .  .  quanto 
creaturae  magis  appropinquant  ad  Deum,  qui  est  im- 
mobilis,  tanto  magis  sunt  immobiles." 

14  Cf.  Albert.  Mag.,  op.  cit.  IV,  vi,  2. 
16  Inf.  ii,  97-99- 


THE  "THREE  BLESSED  LADIES"  II9 

various  knights  upon  their  missions  of  mercy 
and  justice,  herself  meanwhile  serenely  and 
inactively  awaiting  the  result.  Manifestly, 
she  in  her  castle  can  keep  no  liaison  with  her 
wandering  champions.  At  most,  she  can  but 
supply  them  with  a  continuing  motive  to 
prowess, — the  promised  reward  of  her  favor. 
But  she  cannot  help  them  at  need.  She  cannot 
even  know  where  they  are.  Everything  that 
may  happen  between  their  setting  out  and 
their  coming  back  is  for  her  a  blank.  She  can 
only  hope,  and — if  compatible  with  her  regal 
dignity — pray  for  them.  Allegorically  indeed, 
the  case  is  different.  By  historical  intention, 
Spenser,  as  he  explained  to  Raleigh,  meant  by 
Gloriana,  Queen  Elizabeth.  In  the  national 
campaigns,  military  and  other,  which  the 
quests  of  the  several  knights  signify,  the 
English  Queen  might  maintain  liaison  with 
her  armies  and  representatives,  and  so  act  in 
their  support.  Again,  since  by  moral  and 
anagogical  intention,  Gloriana  signifies  Glory, 
there  is  possible  a  still  more  intimate  liaison. 
For  Spenser  appears  to  intend  by  Gloriana  as 
Glory  a  divine  power  as  well  as  a  personified 
ideal.  The  ideal  is  the  reward  of  glory,  tem- 
poral or  eternal  or  both.  This  signification, 
however,  only  moralizes  the  literal  motive  of 


120     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

the  feudal  queen's  favor.  But  Glory  con- 
ceived as  the  personal  power,  the  radiant 
activity,  of  God,  would  identify  Gloriana 
exactly  with  the  divine  power  which  Dante 
also  calls  "glory." 

"La  gloria  di  colui  che  tutto  move 
Per  l'universo  penetra,  e  risplende 
In  una  parte  piu,  e  meno  al trove  "  16 

As  that  Glory,  Gloriana  is  spiritually  and  effi- 
ciently in  liaison  with  her  champions  always. 
All  their  strength  is  from  her.  They  are  but 
the  instruments  through  which  her  power  con- 
tinuously effects  itself.  If  failure  follow,  it  is 
because  the  instrument,  not  the  power,  is 
defective. 

Although  Spenser's  religious  allegory 
teaches  this  fundamental  thesis  of  Christian 
providence,  his  carrying  literal  story  is  in 
imperfect  correspondence.  The  Faerie  Queene 
of  his  chivalric  fiction  contributes  nothing  to 
the  action  beyond  the  initial  motive  to  ser- 
vice. She  is  an  inspiration  to  the  enamored 
Prince  Arthur,  no  doubt,  but  only  an  absentee 
inspiration,  availing  him  only  as  the  thought 
of  a  sweetheart  at  home  might  avail  a  soldier 
in  the  field.   And  potent  as  such  inspiration 

16  Par.  i,  1-3. 


THE  "THREE  BLESSED  LADIES"     121 

can  be,  it  certainly  offers  but  imperfect 
analogy  to  the  omnipotent,  omniscient,  omni- 
present sustaining  of  God. 

Between  the  literal  and  allegorical  role  of 
the  Virgin  Mary  in  the  Divine  Comedy  there  is 
no  such  disparity.  Indeed,  so  far  as  the  char- 
acter of  Mary  is  concerned,  there  is,  so  far  as 
I  can  see,  no  question  or  need  of  allegoriza- 
tion.  Dante  merely  voices  contemporary 
belief,  as  defined  by  leading  theological  writ- 
ers, when  he  attributes  to  the  enthroned 
Mother  of  God  effective  control  of  human 
destiny.  Whatever  comes  to  us  must  have 
passed  through  her  hands.17  She  is  accredited 
with  an  "omnipotence"  coequal  with  Christ's; 
"for  she  is  queen  of  that  kingdom  of  which  her 
Son  is  king,  and  king  and  queen  enjoy  the 
same  prerogatives  under  the  law."  "Yet  most 
excellently  potent  is  she  in  the  Church  Tri- 
umphant,"— in  the  jurisdiction,  that  is,  of 
man's  salvation.  In  that  jurisdiction,  she  is 
made  to  declare:  "Mine  is  the  power  .  .  . 
to  act  as  I  see  fit  {ad  beneplacitum  meum) ,  and 
to  admit  whom  I  will."  18 

17  "Nihil  nos  Deus  habere  voluit,  quod  per  Mariae 
manus  non  transiret."  St.  Bernard,  in  Vig.  Nat.  Dom., 
quoted  by  St.  Bonaventure,  Speculum  b.  Mar.  Virg.,  lect.iv. 

18  Albert.  Mag.,  op.  cit.  IV,  xxx  (De  omnipotentia 
Mariae),  i. 


122     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

The  Mary  of  the  Divine  Comedy  is  often 
described  as  the  "symbol  of  God's  mercy." 
She  is  not  that,  but  very  God  over  man.  Nor 
is  her  divine  role  merely  one  of  mercy.  She 
can  be  an  "iron  rod"  to  chastise  the  obdurate.19 
Effectively,  therefore,  the  Virgin's  favor  is  the 
one  and  supreme  object  of  man's  solicitude 
and  solicitation.  Homage  may  be  dutifully 
paid  to  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit.  In- 
deed, not  to  pay  it  would  offend  Mary  herself. 
But  the  Trinity,  like  the  home-abiding  Faerie 
Queene,  becomes  for  the  harrassed  Christian, 
practically  an  absentee  inspiration.  So  Bon- 
aventure  changes  to  Mary's  address  the 
supplicatory  psalm: 

"In  te,  Domina,  speravi,  non  confundar  in 
aeternum:  in  gratia  tua  suscipe  me. 

Tu  es  fortitudo  mea  et  refugium  meum: 
consolatio  mea  et  protectio  mea. 

Ad  te,  Domina,  clamavi,  dum  tribularetur  cor 
meum:  et  exaudisti  me  de  vertice  collium 
aeternorum. 

Educas  me  de  laqueo,  quern  absconder unt 
mihi:  quoniam  tu  es  adjutrix  mea. 

19  "Virgo  Maria  est  virga  ferrea  daemonibus  et  incor- 
rigibilibus."  St.  Bonaventure,  Spec.  b.  Mar.  Virg.,  lect. 
xii.  He  also  addresses  her  as  "O  vere  peccaminum  vere 
draconina."   Carm.  super  cantic.  Salve  Regina,  prin°. 


THE  "THREE  BLESSED  LADIES"  1 23 

In  manus  tuas,  Domina,  commendo  spiritum 
meum:  totam  vitam  meam  et  diem  ultimum 
meum.  Gloria  Patri,  etc."  20 

In  the  precise  spirit  of  this  converted  psalm 
Dante  represents  his  own  rescue.  "From  the 
top  of  the  eternal  hills,"  Mary  had  seen  and 
heard  him  lamenting  in  the  "snare"  of  the 
dark  monster-haunted  wood.  His  rescuer  is 
no  mere  allegorical  symbol  of  an  act  of  God, 
but  a  real  person, — a  living,  acting,  all-seeing, 
all-wise,  and  all-powerful  divinity.  Such  was 
the  faith  of  the  age. 

As  soon  as  Dante,  however,  comes  to  dra- 
matize Mary's  ways  and  means  of  interven- 
tion, allegory  would  seem  to  begin.  The  curi- 
ous way  by  which  her  aid  is  transmitted — 
almost  as  if  through  "military  channels" — 
by  Lucia  to  Beatrice,  by  Beatrice  to  Virgil, 
by  Virgil  to  Dante  himself,  is  of  course  drama- 
tic fiction  and  allegory.  But  the  precise  sig- 
nification is  puzzling.  Various  interpretations 
have  been  offered  by  commentators,  but  the 
most  currently  accepted  view  is  that  summar- 
ized as  follows  by  Professor  Grandgent :  "God 
in  his  mercy  sends  forth  his  illuminating  grace 
to  prepare  the  way  for  complete  revelation, 
which  will  ensue  as  soon  as  the  reawakened 

20  P salt,  majus  b.  Mar.  Virg.,  Ps.  30. 


124     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

voice  of  reason  shall  have  made  the  sinner 
ready  to  receive  it."  21 

This  is  an  admirably  clear  and  simple  state- 
ment of  the  case.  It  represents  truthfully,  as 
I  believe,  the  standard  interpretation  of  the 
opening  action  of  the  poem.  Of  the  "three 
ladies,"  the  Virgin,  "as  generally  in  Christian 
thought,  symbolizes  divine  Mercy;"  Lucia  is 
"the  emblem  of  Grace — probably,  as  her  name 
suggests,  Illuminating  Grace;"  Beatrice 
"stands  for  Revelation,  for  which  Dante's 
distorted  mind  must  be  prepared  by  Reason," 
— that  is,  Virgil. 

Now  is  this  what  Dante  means?  I  ask  the 
question  in  some  embarrassment;  for  I 
realize  that  against  the  consensus  of  scholarly 
opinion  a  lonely  dissenter  is  certainly  pre- 
sumptuous and  probably  wrong.  Still,  the 
long  chance  is  the  interesting  one.  And  be- 
sides, honestly  I  do  not  think  this  is  what 
Dante  means. 

In  the  first  place,  the  theological  implica- 
tion of  the  quoted  interpretation  is  that  God 
executes  his  own  providence.  The  three  ladies 
merely  symbolize  the  three  aspects  of  his 
executive  act.    But  this  is  false  to  Dante's 

21  La  Divina  Commedia,  ed.  and  annot.  by  C.  H.  Grand- 
gent,  Heath  &  Co.,  1913,  p.  19. 


THE  "THREE  BLESSED  LADIES"  1 25 

theology.  In  that,  God  knows  and  wills  his 
providential  plan,  but  deputes  the  execution 
of  it  to  second  causes,  "intellectual  creatures," 
in  a  descending  scale.22  The  Virgin,  St. 
Lucia,  Beatrice,  Virgil  constitute  such  a 
descending  scale  of  "intellectual  creatures," 
who  Dante  says  did  personally  influence  him 
for  good  in  the  degree  and  kind  of  their 
respective  illuminations.  With  regard  to  the 
Virgin  there  can  be  no  question.  Day  and 
night,  he  says,  he  invoked  her  name.23  So  to 
do  was  the  bounden  duty  and  the  ground  of 
hope  of  every  good  Catholic.  Dante's  de- 
pendence on  the  actual  St.  Lucia  is  more 
doubtful.  He  may  have  invoked  her  to  cure 
his  poor  eyesight.  At  least,  such  healing-power 
was  accredited  to  her.  He  may  have  invoked 
her  aid  in  more  spiritual  issues.  But  the  sus- 
picion arises  that  her  personal  prominence  in 
the  story  of  his  redemption  is  due  rather  to 
the  derivation  of  her  name  from  luce,  light, 
and  the  neat  way  this  signification  fitted  in 
with  her  healing-power,  especially  if  this 
power  were  conceived  to  extend  to  spiritual 
vision  as  well  as  to  physical.   For  light  is  the 

22  Cf.  St.  Thomas,  5.  T.  I,  xxii,  13.  Cf.  lb.  ciii,  6;  Contra 
Cent.  Ill,  Ixxvi-lxxix. 

23  Par.  xxiii,  88-90. 


126     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

natural  aid  to  vision.  If  this  suspicion  be  well 
grounded,  undoubtedly  the  character  of  Lucia 
is  from  the  outset  preponderantly  symbolic. 
In  other  words,  the  living  saint's  personality 
has  been  merged  into  its  special  virtue,  and 
the  virtue  itself  reduced  to  its  theoretic 
principle.  The  actual  light-giver  to  the  dim  of 
sight  becomes  the  symbol  of  Light  itself, 
physical  and  spiritual.  If  Beatrice,  on  the 
other  hand,  was  to  and  for  Dante  what  he 
says  she  was,  then  on  earth  and  from  heaven 
her  influence  upon  him  was  concretely  per- 
sonal. She  helped  him,  not  something  else  she 
might  "stand  for."  Even  if  Dante  invented 
her,  he  invented  her  as  a  personality,  and  not 
as  a  personification.  But  in  her  immortal 
personality,  as  in  any  living  spiritual  organ- 
ism, there  would  be  a  hierarchy  of  powers, 
with  one  supreme  and  controlling  power,  one 
that  gave  form  and  direction  to  all  the  rest. 
To  say  that  by  such  a  dominant  power,  or 
characteristic,  she  influenced  Dante,  is  not  to 
treat  it  in  abstraction  from  the  powers  over 
which  it  was  dominant.  A  rudder  steers  a 
ship,  but  a  rudder  cannot  steer  without  a 
ship.  Yet,  although  the  actual  Beatrice  influ- 
enced Dante  from  heaven,  her  individual 
influence  could  not,  like  Mary's,  be  repre- 


THE  "THREE  BLESSED  LADIES"  1 27 

sented  as  universal.  It  would  have  been  in- 
sanity of  praise  to  set  up  his  lady,  however 
glorious  among  women,  as  a  divinity  regulat- 
ing all  mankind.  She  herself  had  promised : 

"Sarai  meco  senza  fine  cive 
Di  quella  Roma  onde  Cristo  e  Romano."  u 

She  too  was  but  a  private  citizen  in  the  king- 
dom of  heaven.  Therefore,  to  make  his  re- 
demption through  her  serviceable  as  an  ex- 
ample to  his  fellow-men,  he  must,  so  to  speak, 
de-individualize  her,  reveal  to  them  what 
power,  incarnate  in  her,  was  in  itself  univer- 
sally salutary.  In  fine,  Beatrice  becomes  a 
symbol,  not  for  Dante's  rescue,  but  for  the 
rescue  of  mankind.  There  remains  Virgil. 
An  obvious  distinction  between  his  case  and 
that  of  the  three  ladies  is  that  they  are  in 
heaven,  and  Virgil  in  hell.  The  mere  fact  of 
being  damned,  however,  would  not  make 
Virgil's  actual  spirit  ineligible  as  an  instru- 
ment of  God  for  man's  benefit.25  And  it 
would  be  hazardous  to  deny  categorically 
that  one  of  Dante's  time  and  faith  might  not 
have  entertained  the  idea  of  actual  super- 
natural aid  from  his  beloved  master's  spirit. 

24  Purg.  xxxii,  101-102. 

25  Cf.  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  II— II,  clxxii,  5-6. 


128     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

Was  not  he,  Dante,  admitted  sixth  in  that 
"fair  school"  of  which  Virgil  was  master?  26 
But  I  do  not  insist  upon  the  point.  At  least, 
the  spirit  of  Virgil  lived  and  spoke  to  Dante  in 
immortal  poetry,  in  that  "right  speaking," 
upon  which,  as  honoring  him  and  all  that 
heard  him,  Beatrice  relied  for  Dante's  moral 
correction.27  Such  an  influence  is  neither 
allegory  nor  fiction.  And  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  Dante  was  deeply  stirred  by  the 
noble  character,  the  humane  wisdom  and 
sweet  reasonableness  of  Virgil  as  revealed  in 
his  writings.  These  qualities  appear  in  the 
character  of  the  Comedy.  Dante's  Virgil  is  no 
mere  symbol  of  Reason  in  the  abstract ;  he  is 
— in  the  richest  sense — an  "all-round  man," — 
one,  that  is,  whose  whole  character  is  true- 
centered  on  reason.  Indeed,  as  will  be  argued 
more  fully  hereafter,28  Virgil's  efficacy  is 
more  than  that  of  natural  reason.  Otherwise 
he  could  not  lead  Dante  to  Beatrice,  could 
not,  in  fact,  get  out  of  Limbo. 

Thus,  as  it  seems  to  me,  the  standard  inter- 
pretation I  have  quoted,  errs  in  attributing  to 
God  a  direct  action  which  according  to  Catho- 

26 


1  Inf.  iv,  100-102. 

27  Inf.  ii,  112-114. 

28  Below,  pp.  186  et  seq. 


THE  "THREE  BLESSED  LADIES"  120, 

lie  theology  he  does  not  exercise,  in  ignoring 
the  all-dominant  divinity  of  the  Virgin,  and 
in  empoverishing  the  roles  especially  of  Bea- 
trice and  Virgil.  Even  Lucia,  I  think,  has  a 
richer  and  more  complex  signification  than 
merely  and  statically  that  of  "Illuminating 
Grace." 

But  another  kind  of  objection  seems  to  lie 
against  the  standard  interpretation.  It  does 
not  work  out  right.  We  are  justified  in  ex- 
pecting from  a  writer  so  meticulously  scrupu- 
lous as  Dante  an  exact  correspondence  be- 
tween the  literal  narrative  and  the  symbolic 
implication.  But  if  "God  in  his  mercy  sends 
forth  his  illuminating  grace  to  prepare  the  way 
for  complete  revelation,"  surely  the  proper  re- 
cipient of  grace  is  the  sinner,  Dante.  In  point 
of  fact,  Lucia,  or  Illuminating  Grace,  does 
not  at  this  time  go  out  to  Dante  at  all,  but 
to  Beatrice.  And  if  "Beatrice  stands  for 
Revelation,"  in  what  sense  can  Revelation 
receive  illuminating  grace?  Would  it  not  be 
"carrying  coals  to  Newcastle?"  Then  Beatrice 
descends  to  Virgil  in  hell.  But  if  Virgil  re- 
ceives revelation,  how  can  Virgil  stand  for 
Reason-without-revelation?  Once  more,  if 
Beatrice  signifies  the  "complete  revelation 
which  will  ensue  as  soon  as  the  reawakened 


130     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

voice  of  reason  shall  have  made  the  sinner 
ready  to  receive  it,"  how  happens  it  that  the 
final  rapture  of  revelation  comes  to  Dante 
when  Beatrice  is  no  longer  with  him? 

Now  I  hope  I  have  made  it  clear  that  I  am 
impugning  not  the  personal  interpretation  of 
a  particular  scholar,  but  the  standard  inter- 
pretation, the  interpretation  given  in  nearly 
all  the  current  commentaries.  And  I  have  the 
temerity  to  believe  it  possible  to  put  finger  on 
the  principal  point  where  this  standard  inter- 
pretation goes  astray.  It  is  perfectly  true  that 
the  Christian  has  two  sources  of  knowledge,  to 
wit,  his  own  faculty  of  reason  and  revelation 
through  Christ.  It  is  true  also  that  in  the 
sinner's  mind  reason  is  dethroned,  or  at  least 
corrupted,  and  that  by  such  a  mind  revelation 
would  be  misunderstood  and  perverted.  As 
the  elder  Guido  had  said : 

"The  sun  shines  on  the  mud  all  day ;  and  it 

Still  mud  remains, — nor  is  the  sun's  power  less." 

It  follows  then  that  the  sinner's  "distorted 
mind"  must  be  "prepared — or  rather  repaired 
— for  revelation"  by  the  re-enthronement  of 
reason.  So  Virgil,  as  Reason,  aided  by  Lucia 
as  Illuminating  Grace,  prepares  Dante's 
mind  to  receive  Beatrice.   It  seems  to  follow, 


THE  "THREE  BLESSED  LADIES"  I3I 

therefore,  that  Beatrice  must  be  Revelation. 
And  it  might  follow  if  Dante's  reception  of 
Beatrice,  his  spiritual  possession  of  her,  were 
the  consummating  end.  But  it  is  not.  She 
even  warns  him  against  such  an  idea: 

"Che  non  pur  ne'miei  occhi  e  Paradise"  29 

The  true  consummating  end  is  God's  own  self- 
revelation  to  a  mind  prepared  to  receive  the 
"fulgore"  the  effulgence,  of  that  overwhelm- 
ing illumination.30  Beatrice  is  for  Dante  a 
means  to  that  end,  an  instrument  of  God's 
in  the  execution  of  that  providential  plan. 
No  doubt  she  was  the  instrument  of  grace 
that  touched  him  most  nearly,  but  her  very 
influence  over  him  was  due  to  the  focussing  in 
her  of  all  the  lights  of  heaven,  which  are  also 
God's  instruments.  The  resulting  splendor  of 
her  beauty,  physical  and  spiritual,  awoke 
in  him  love  of  her.  Then  the  recognition  that 
this  her  splendor  was  the  radiated  reflection 
of  still  diviner  beings,  of  the  saints,  and  of  the 
angels  above  the  saints,  and  of  the  Virgin 
above  the  angels,  and  of  the  Godhead  above 
the  Virgin,  enlarged  at  last  his  love  of  her  to 

29  Par.  xviii,  21.    Cf.  Par.  xxiii,  70-72. 

30  Cf.  Par.  xxxiii,  140-142. 


132     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

love  of  God.31  And  to  this  love  of  God,  this 
charity,  so  made  perfect  in  Dante  himself,  is 
due  the  rewarding  revelation  of  God,  beati- 
tude— by  him  foretasted.  For  the  one  thing 
essential  to  beatitude  is  perfect  charity.32 

Beatrice's  training,  then,  is  a  training  in 
charity.  But  how?  She  herself  implies  the 
answer : 

"Ne  impetrare  spirazion  mi  valse, 

Con  le  quali  ed  in  sogno  ed  altrimenti 
Lo  rivocai;  si  poco  a  lui  ne  calse. 
Tanto  giu  cadde  che  tutti  argomenti 
Alia  salute  sua  eran  gia  corti, 
Fuor  che  mostrargli  le  perdute  genti  "  33 

Her  earlier  "revelations"  had  failed  of  their 
purpose;  her  later  ones — of  the  "lost  folk" — 
sufficed  for  his  rescue.  And  then,  after  he  had 
paid  his  "scot  of  penitence  that  sheddeth 
tears,"34  had  passed  through  purgatory,  and 
crossed  Lethe,  he  received  the  progressive 
revelations  of  the  blest  folk  which  culminated 
in  the  revelation  of  God  himself. 

I  might  appear  to  be  throwing  away  my 
case.   If  Beatrice's  training  was  by  successive 

31  Cf.  Purg.  xxxi,  22-27. 

32  "Perfectio  charitatis  est  essentialis  beatitudini." 
St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  I— II,  iv,  8,  3m. 

33  Purg.  xxx,  133-138. 
3i  lb.  142-145. 


THE  "THREE  BLESSED  LADIES"  1 33 

"revelations,"  is  not  her  symbolic  function 
revelation?  And  is  not  the  standard  interpre- 
tation therefore  right?  Yet,  let  us  consider  a 
little  more  closely. 

In  the  first  place,  she  says  that  she  "ob- 
tained" revelations,  not  gave  them.  The  reve- 
lation itself  did  not  come  from  any  power  of 
hers.  Would  it  not,  then,  be  a  singular  con- 
ception of  symbolism  which  should  make  her 
represent  a  power  which  she  had  not?  In  the 
second  place,  I  have  been  using  the  term 
"revelation," — as  I  think  the  majority  of 
commentators  use  it, — in  a  loose  and  untech- 
nical  way.  But  Dante  never  uses  philosophi- 
cal and  theological  terms  in  a  loose  and 
untechnical  way.  And  "revelation"  in  the 
technical  theological  sense  is  carefully  defined 
by  his  master,  St.  Thomas.  "A  revelation 
includes  a  vision,  and  not  conversely;  for 
whenever  things  are  seen,  the  intelligence  and 
signification  of  which  are  obscure  to  the  seer, 
then  it  is  a  vision  only,  such  as  was  the  vision 
of  Pharaoh  and  Nebuchednezzar,  .  .  .  but 
when  together  with  the  vision  is  had  the 
signification  and  intelligence  of  those  things 
which  are  seen,  this  is  revelation."  35    There 

35  "Revelatio  includit  visionem  et  non  e  converso;  nam 
aliquando  videntur  aliqua,  quorum  intellectus  et  signifi- 


134     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

are,  accordingly,  two  factors  in  any  genuine 
revelation, —  (i)  the  vision  or  inspiration 
given,  and  (2)  understanding  of  it  by  the 
recipient.  The  earlier  visions  and  inspira- 
tions obtained  for  Dante  by  Beatrice, — 
those  narrated  in  the  New  Life, — were  not 
obscure  or  defective  in  themselves.  If  they 
had  been,  her  rebuke  would  have  been  unjust. 
The  defect  wTas  in  him,  in  his  power  of  under- 
standing. Indeed,  later,  under  analogous  cir- 
cumstances, she  tells  him  so.36  So,  if  the  later 
visions, — those  recounted  in  the  Divine  Com- 
edy,— proved,  as  they  did,  to  be  efficacious, 
to  be  genuine  revelations,  it  must  be  because 
Dante  himself  had  become  enabled  to  inter- 
pret them.  His  faculty  of  understanding 
must  have  been  improved.  That  improve- 
ment was  her  work.  Of  her  own  power  she 
could  not  produce  the  vision,  the  first  factor 
of  revelation;  but  it  was  her  power  that 
actualized  the  second  factor,  his  power  to 
comprehend,  and  so  to  profit  by,  the  vision. 
And  this,  in  fact,  he  acknowledges  to  be  the 

catio  est  occulta  videnti,  et  tunc  est  visio  solum,  sicut  fuit 
visio    Pharaonis   et    Nabuchodonosor,    .    .    .   sed   quando 
cum  visione  habetur  significatio  et  intellectus  eorum,  quae 
videntur,  hunc  est  revelatio."   II  Cor.  xii,  1. 
se  Purg.  xxxiii,  64-75. 


the  "three  blessed  ladies"        i  35 

very  sum  and  substance  of  his  obligation  to 
her.   In  his  last  solemn  words  to  her,  he  says: 

"Di  tante  cose  quante  io  ho  vedute, 
Dal  tuo  potere  e  dalla  tua  bontate 
Riconosco  la  grazia  e  la  virtute."  37 

Or,  more  briefly,  he  owes  the  efficacy  of  his 
visions  to  her  power. 

The  conclusion  seems  to  me  unescapable. 
The  power  or  virtue  which  Beatrice  exerts  for 
Dante's  good,  and  which — taken  in  itself  as 
universally  salutary — she  symbolizes,  is  not 
Revelation,  but  one  that,  communicated,  can 
by  understanding  transform  visions,  "things 
seen,"  into  revelation.  To  miss  this  distinc- 
tion, to  confuse  this  power  with  Revelation, 
is  like  confusing  the  steam  with  the  engine. 
What  then  is  this  power? 

There  are  two  ways  of  answering  this 
question, — one  by  the  theological  necessity 
of  the  case,  the  other  from  intimations  and 
implications  of  Dante's  own  text.  Naturally, 
both  ways  should  lead  to  the  same  result; 
and  it  might  be  considered  more  natural  and 
more  final  to  enquire  what  he  means  from 
what  he  says  than  to  force — perhaps — his 
words  into  conformity  with  any  theological 

37  Par.  xxxi,  82-84. 


I36     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

dogma.  But  Dante  is  an  economist — in  the 
theological  sense — of  truth.  He  writes  "ad 
utilitatem"  saying  in  effect  to  his  reader 
what  Love  in  the  vision  of  the  New  Life  had 
said  to  him:  "Non  domandar  piU  che  utile  ti 
sia"  38  He  omits  to  label  his  symbolic  charac- 
ters and  meanings,  because  so  to  do  would 
have  been,  not  only  useless,  but  even  worse 
than  useless.  Bunyan  could  for  the  con- 
venience of  his  readers,  label  his  characters 
as  "Christian,"  "Hopeful,"  "Giant  Despair," 
"Mr.  Worldly- wiseman,"  and  so  forth,  be- 
cause, like  Wordsworth's  primrose,  these 
characters  were  what  their  labels  said  they 
were,  and  they  were  nothing  more.  But,  as 
has  been  shown,  to  tie  a  label  to  the  charac- 
ters of  the  Divine  Comedy,  especially  the 
principal  ones,  would  actually  mislead.  Their 
symbolic  significations  follow  from  their 
respective  functions  in  a  highly  complex 
system  of  ideas.  Really  to  understand  them, 
the  reader  must  first  understand  this  system. 
So,  lest  the  incompetent  reader  may  be  mis- 
led into  thinking  he  understands  when  he 
cannot,  Dante  deliberately  veils  his  deeper 
meanings  by  insinuating  them  enigmatically. 
It  is  the  avowed  practice  of  medieval  theolo- 

38  xii,  40-41. 


THE  "THREE  BLESSED  LADIES*  T37 

gians  when  addressing  intellectually  mixed 
audiences.  The  experts  can  read  the  riddles; 
the  others  are  mercifully  and  prudently 
spared  mischievous  misunderstandings.  Safe- 
ly to  read  Dante's  enigmas,  therefore,  we 
must,  as  best  we  may,  take  the  approach  of 
the  philosophical  and  theological  expert. 

Now  theologically  speaking,  there  are  two 
resources  given  to  man  for  interpreting  the 
"intelligence  and  signification"  of  "things 
seen."  One  is  by  the  "use  of  reason;"  the 
other,  "through  a  certain  connaturalness  with 
the  things  to  be  judged."  Both  are  called 
wisdom ;  but  the  wisdom  acquired  by  the  use 
of  reason  proceeds  discursively  from  the  data 
of  sense,  and  is  therefore  of  itself  incom- 
petent to  judge  of  divine  things,  which  are 
beyond  sense.  The  wisdom,  on  the  other 
hand,  which  proceeds  from  connaturalness 
with  divine  things  is  a  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
It  is  not  acquired,  but  infused.  And  its  pro- 
cedure is  not  by  discursive  inference,  but  by 
a  "divine,"  and  therefore  infallible,  "instinct." 
Moreover,  if  this  divine  gift  of  wisdom  has 
its  essence  in  the  intellect,  or  faculty  of  judg- 
ment, it  has  its  cause  in  the  will,  to  wit,  in 
charity.39 

39 ".    .    .   rectitudo    autem    judicii    potest    contingere 


I38     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

The  visions  and  inspirations  obtained  by 
Beatrice  for  Dante  were  of  "divine  things." 
His  judgment  of  them  had  three  stages:  (1) 
by  imperfect  use  of  reason, — his  rational 
faculty  being  impeded  by  passion;  (2)  by 
perfect  use  of  reason, — symbolized  by  the 
guidance  of  Virgil  aided  by  divine  light,  or 
gratuitous  grace ; 40  (3)  by  the  "divine  in- 
stinct," or  intuition,  of  the  gift  of  wisdom, 
vouchsafed  to  all  who  have  charity,  and  sym- 
bolized by  the  personal  guidance  of  Beatrice. 
The  symbolic  distinction,  then,  between 
Virgil  and  Beatrice  is  not  between  Reason 
and  Revelation,  but  between  Reason  human  - 

dupliciter:  uno  modo  secundum  perfectum  usum  rationis: 
alio  modo  propter  connaturalitatem  quamdam  ad  ea,  de 
quibus  jam  est  judicandum,  ...  sic  ergo  circa  res 
divinas  ex  rationis  inquisitione  rectum  judicium  habere 
pertinet  ad  sapientiam,  qui  est  virtus  intellectualis:  sed 
rectum  judicium  habere  de  eis  secundum  quamdam 
connaturalitatem  ad  ipsas,  pertinet  ad  sapientiam, 
secundum  quod  donum  est  Spiritus  Sancti.  .  .  .  Sic 
ergo  sapientia,  quae  est  donum,  causam  quidem  habet  in 
voluntate,  scilicet  charitatem,  sed  essentiam  habet  in 
intellectu,  cujus  actus  est  recte  judicare."  St.  Thomas, 
S.  T.  1 1 — 1 1,  xlv,  2,  c.  Again,  "...  sapientia  dicitur 
intellectualis  virtus,  secundum  quod  procedit  ex  judicio 
rationis:  dicitur  autem  donum,  secundum  quod  operatur 
ex  instinctu  divino."   lb.  I — II,  lxviii,  I,  4m. 

40  The  need  and  character  of  this  grace  will  be  discussed 
hereafter.   See  below,  pp.  186-193. 


THE  "THREE  BLESSED  LADIES"  1 39 

ly  perfected  in  "acquired  Wisdom"  (Sapientia 
adquisita)  and  Reason  divinely  perfected  in 
"infused  Wisdom"  (Sapientia  infnsa).41  The 
former  reaches  beyond  the  things  of  sense 
only  by  abstraction  and  discursive  logic;  the 
latter  has  intuitive  cognizance  of  divine 
things  by  a  "certain  connaturalness"  with 
them. 

As  St.  Thomas  states,42  the  essence  of  this 
infused  wisdom,  of  wisdom  as  a  gift,  is  in  the 
intellect;  its  cause  is  in  the  will, — that  is,  in 
charity.  In  other  words,  infused  wisdom  is  of 
an  intellect  actualized  by  charity, — or,  more 
briefly  still,  of  an  intellect  of  love.  Such, 
then,  is  the  deeper  meaning  of  the  famous 
opening  address  of  the  canzone : 

"Donne,  ch'avete  intelletto  d'amore," 

"Ye  ladies — or  more  generally,  spirits — that 
have  the  intellect  of  love."43  Also  is  explained 
how  and  why  in  the  responsive  canzone  put 
into  their  mouths,  they,  like  Dante,  acknowl- 
edge that  their  infused  wisdom  is  due  to 
Beatrice's  influence.    She,  as  they  say,  is  "la 

41  Cf.  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  II— II,  xlv,  1,  2m. 

42  See  above,  note  39. 

43  The  more  usual  translation,  "intelligence  of  love," 
will  serve  if  "intelligence"  is  understood  in  the  active  sense 
of  the  faculty  of  intelligence. 


140     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

fontana  d'insegnarnento," 44  which  "di  not 
ciascuna  fa  saccente"  45  And  in  view  of  his 
faithful  service,  they  promise  Dante  to  in- 
tercede for  him  with  Love,46  and  to  recom- 
mend him  to  Love.47 

The  deeper  insight  of  an  intellect  actualized 
by  love  is  explicitly  alluded  to  by  Beatrice 
herself  in  reference  to  the  mystery  of  God's 
sacrifice  for  man : 

"Questo  decreto,  frate,  sta  sepulto 
Agli  occhi  di  ciascuno  il  cui  ingegno 
Nella  fiamma  d'amor  non  e  adulto."  48 

And  Dante's  definition  of  the  nature  of  his 
poetic  inspiration  is  made  in  direct  conjunc- 
tion with  the  line  of  the  canzone  quoted  by 
Bonagiunta : 

"Ma  di's'io  veggio  qui  colui  che  fuore 
Trasse  le  nuove  rime,  cominciando : 
'Donne  ch'avete  intelletto  d'Amore.' 
Ed  io  a  lui:  'Io  mi  son  un  che,  quando 

44  Canz.  Ben-aggia-V  amoroso,  11.  64-65.  The  author  of 
this  canzone,  whether  Dante  or  not,  certainly  understood 
Dante. 

45  lb.  1.  8. 

46  lb.  11.  25-28. 

47  lb.  11.  69-70. 

48  Par.  vii,  58-60. 


THE  "THREE  BLESSED  LADIES"  I4I 

Amor  mi  spira,  noto,  ed  a  quel  modo 
Che  ditta  dentro,  vo  significando.'  "49 

His  poetry  was  due  to  his  intellect  having 
become  an  "intelletto  a"  amove,"  operating  by 
"divine  instinct."  It  will  be  remembered 
that  his  tongue  spoke  the  line,  "Donne  cKavete 
intelletto  oV Amove,"  "quasi  come  pev  se  stessa 
mossa."  50 

The  ladies  of  the  responsive  canzone  prom- 
ised to  recommend  the  faithful  Dante  to 
"Love."  They  must  mean  Beatrice  herself, 
since  she  alone  could  reward  her  servant. 
Also,  in  the  New  Life,  Love  himself,  personi- 
fied, announced  the  virtual  identity  of 
Beatrice  and  himself:  "Chi  volesse  sottilmente 
considevave,  quella  B eatvice  chiamevebbe  Amore, 
pev  molta  simiglianza  che  ha  meco."  51  Here, 
and  constantly  also  in  the  Divine  Comedy, 
Beatrice  would  represent,  or  symbolize, 
Love, — that  is,  the  holy  love  which  is  charity. 
I  have  just  seemingly  demonstrated,  on  the 
other  hand,  that  she  symbolizes  the  Intellect 
of  Love.  The  ambiguity  is  a  matter  of  two 
facets  of  one  crystal,  two  aspects  of  a  con- 
crete,   and    therefore   multiple,    symbol.     It 

49  Purg.  xxiv,  49-54. 

50  V.  N.  xix,  10-12. 
61  V.  N.  xxiv,  41-43. 


142     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

depends  upon  whether  we  are  regarding 
Beatrice's  "power"  in  its  cause,  or  in  its 
essence.  As  cause  of  the  gift  of  wisdom,  she  is 
the  will  of  charity;  as  its  essence,  the  intellect 
of  charity.  Either  involves  the  other;  since 
the  effect  must  follow  its  cause,  and  whatever 
of  perfection  is  in  the  effect  must  be  in  the 
cause.52 

The  efhcacy  of  Beatrice  as  Love  was  to 
kindle  a  like  love  in  Dante.53  And  at  first 
this  normal  effect  followed.54  But  because  he 
yielded  to  baser  desires,  connaturalness  was 
lost  between  his  love  and  the  Love  she  repre- 
sented.55 So,  losing  charity,  he  lost  the 
"divine  instinct"  to  interpret  his  saving 
inspirations,  and  went  from  bad  to  worse. 
Yet  in  the  renouncement  of  his  desired 
reward  of  her  salutation,  charity  was  re- 
kindled, and  a  "new  and  nobler"  chapter  in 
his  young  life  opened.56  For  charity  gives  and 

52  ".  .  .  quidquid  perfectionis  est  in  effectu,  oportet 
in  venire  in  causa  effectiva."  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  I,  iv,  2,  c. 

53  Cf.  Albert.  Mag.  op.  cit.  IV,  xvii,  1 :  " .  .  .est  enim 
amor  amantis  et  amati  quasi  quaedam  unio  potissimum  in 
bonis,  et  naturaliter  illud  quod  amatur,  in  sui  naturam 
suum  convertit  amatorem." 

54  V.  N.  xi,  1-9. 

55  Cf.  V.  N.  xii,  26-41. 

56  lb.  xvii-xviii. 


THE  "THREE  BLESSED  LADIES"  1 43 

asks  not,  and  would  rather  love  than  be 
loved.57  The  process  repeats  itself  in  his 
later  falling  away  with  the  "compassionate 
lady"  and  subsequent  repentance,  until  at 
last  his  thought  rises  to  Beatrice  in  heaven, 
moved  by  a  "new  Intelligence"  which  Love 
infuses.58  This  new  intelligence,  caused  by 
love, — or  intellect  of  love, — is  potentially 
capable  of  comprehending  the  divine  things 
which  Beatrice  may  tell  or  show  him.  As  yet, 
however,  it  is  weak,  as  his  new-born  charity 
is  incipient  only.59  To  develop  his  new  insight 
he  must  "study,"  60  that  is,  meditate  upon 
divine  things — things  connatural  with  her.61 
The  beauty  of  these  increases  his  charity,  and 
increased  charity  strengthens  his  intellect. 
This  reciprocal  process  is  the  spiritual  dialec- 
tic of  the  Paradise. 

In  the  Divine  Comedy,  the  power  of  Bea- 
trice is  from  the  beginning  recognized  as  love. 

57  "Charitas  est  amor  gratuitus,  qui  dat  et  non  accipit." 
St.  Bonaventure,  I  Sent,  v,  i,  1,  dub.  9.  ".  .  .  magis 
pertinet  ad  charitatem  velle  amare,  quam  velle  amari." 
St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  II— II,  xxvii,  1,  2m. 

68  V.  N.  xlii,  47-50. 

59  Cf.  ib.  22-36,  55-60. 

60  Ib.  xliii,  6-7. 

61  Cf.  St.  Thomas,  Opus  iv,  c°.  3:  "Ad  acquirendam 
charitatem,  necessaria  sunt  duo:  scilicet  auditio  verbi 
Dei,  et  meditatio  donorum  ejus." 


144     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

Love,  she  tells  Virgil,  moved  her  to  descend 
into  hell  for  Dante's  sake.62  In  his  reply, 
Virgil  addresses  her : 

"O  donna  di  virtu,  sola  per  cui 

L'umana  spezie  eccede  ogni  contento 
Da  quel  ciel  che  ha  minor  li  cerchi  sui."63 

This  address  is  tantamount  to  calling  Bea- 
trice Love;  for  love  of  God,  or  charity,  is  the 
virtue  by  which  the  human  race  is  exalted  to 
the  Empyrean.64  And  presently  Lucia  reen- 
forces  the  point  by  calling  Beatrice  "loda  di 
Dio  vera"  65  "True  praise  of  God"  is  charity, 
love  of  God.  Perfectly  to  rejoice  in  God, 
says  St.  Bonaventure,  is  to  love  him  in  our 
hearts,  to  praise  him  with  our  lips,  and  to 
bear  witness  to  him  in  our  works.  But,  as 
Christ  said,  the  fulfilment  of  all  rejoicing  is 
to  love  God.  The  rejoicing  of  the  loving 
heart  is  the  root,  of  which  the  rejoicing  of  the 
lips  and  the  rejoicing  by  works  are  the 
branches.66     Again,    of    all    creatures,    the 

62  Inf.  ii,  72. 

63  lb.  76-78. 

64  "Perfectio  charitatis  est  essentialis  beatitudini."    St. 
Thomas,  S.  T.  I— II,  iv,  8,  3m. 

65  Inf.  ii,  103. 

66  "Et  ideo  est  notandum,  quod  triplex  est  gaudium, 
scilicet  primum,  quo  laetamur  in  corde;  secundum,  quo 


THE  "THREE  BLESSED  LADIES"  1 45 

Seraphim,  interpreted  as  the  "burning  in 
love,"  67  most  intimately  praise  God.  Further- 
more, this  identification  of  Beatrice  with 
Love  is  confirmed  by  Lucia's  further  words: 

"Che  non  soccorri  quei  che  t'amo  tanto 
Che  uscio  per  te  della  volgare  schiera?"  68 

For  the  "vulgar"  is  the  opposite  of  the 
"gentle,"  and,  as  Dante  has  everywhere 
argued,  that  which  makes  the  heart  "gentle" 
is  love. 

"Amore  e'l  cor  gentil  sono  una  cosa."  69 

laetamur  in  ore;  tertium,  quo  laetamur  in  opere.  Nam 
gaudium  cordis  est  Deum  gaudendo  amare;  gaudium  oris 
est  Deum  gaudendo  laudare;  gaudium  vero  operis  est  Deo 
gaudendo  servire.  Dico,  quod  primum  gaudium,  quo  in 
hac  die  sancta  gaudere  debemus,  est  gaudium  cordis:  quo 
nihim  aliud  existit,  quam  Deum  amare  cum  laetitia 
mentis.  Unde  Dominus  volens  Apostolos  ad  amorem 
inducere,  post  multa  dulcia  verba,  quae  eis  dixerat,  sic  ait 
ad  eos:  " 'Haec  locutus  sum  vobis,  ut  gaudium  vestrum 
plenum  sit,'  id  est,  ut  amor  vester  ad  profectum  veniat, 
toto  corde,  et  tota  mente,  omnique  virtute  Deum  dili- 
gatis  ...  sic  existente  puro  et  sancto  hoc  gaudio  cordis, 
purum  et  sanctum  erit  gaudium  oris,  et  operis,  quia, 
secundum  Apostolum,  qualis  radix,  tales  et  rami."  Ser- 
mones  de  Sanctis  in  communi,  XXXIV.  Cf.  St.  Thomas, 
S.  T.  II— II,  xxviii,  1,  3m:  "Gaudium  de  Deo,  in  se  est 
effectus  charitatis." 

67  Cf.  St.  Thomas,  Cont.  Gent.  Ill,  lxxx. 

68  Inf.  ii,  104-105. 

69  V.  N.  xx,  13. 


I46     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

Over  and  over  Dante  repeats  it  in  ever  new 
connections.  God  is  Love;  Beatrice  is  Love; 
therefore  she,  drawing  him  to  herself,  thereby 
draws  him  to  God.  She  declares  it: 

"Per  entro  i  miei  disiri, 
Che  ti  menavano  ad  amar  lo  bene 
Di  la  dal  qual  non  e  a  che  si  aspiri,"  etc.70 

He  implies  it : 

"Poscia  che  contro  alia  vita  presente 
Dei  miseri  mortali  aperse  il  vero 
Quella  che  imparadisa  la  mia  mente, — 71 

Come  in  lo  specchio  Mamma  di  doppiero 
Vede  colui  che  se  n'alluma  retro, 
Prima  che  l'abbia  in  vista  o  in  pensiero, 

E  se  rivolge  per  veder  se  il  vetro 

Gli  dice  il  vero,  e  vede  ch'el  s'accorda 
Con  esso,  come  nota  con  suo  metro, — 

Cosi  la  mia  memoria  si  ricorda 

Ch'io  feci,  riguardando  nei  begli  occhi 
Onde  a  pigliarmi  fece  Amor  la  corda."  72 

That  is,  she,  Love,  used  the  beauty  of  her 
eyes  to  draw  him  to  God,  who,  as  Divine 

70  Purg.  xxxi,  22-24. 

71  With  this  line,  cf.  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  I— II,  lxv,  5  c: 
"Charitas  facit  homines  deiformes,  supra  homines  con- 
versari  in  coelis,  et  convenire  cum  Deo  et  cum  angelis." 
Dante  himself  describes  heaven  as  "deiforme."  Par.  ii,  20. 

72  Par.  xxviii,  1-12. 


THE  "THREE  BLESSED  LADIES"  1 47 

Love's  radiant  point,  is  now  visibly  mirrored 
in  her  eyes.73  Her  first  instrument,  Virgil  or 
Reason,  in  effect  syllogizes  her  identity  with 
sacred  Love.  Free  choice  is  given  to  man 
between  his  loves,  sacred  and  profane. 

"Quest'  e  il  principio,  la  onde  si  piglia 
Ragion  di  meritare  in  voi,  secondo 
Che  buoni  e  rei  amori  accoglie  e  viglia."  74 

So  choice  and  following  of  sacred  love  is  the 
"ground  of  merit"  by  which  man  attains 
beatitude.  After  perilous  dalliance  with 
profane  loves,  seduced  by  "present  things 
with  their  false  pleasure,"  75  Dante  finally 
chose  Beatrice,  and  is  now  following  her 
securely 76  towards  beatitude.  Therefore, 
she  whom  he  has  chosen  and  follows,  is,  or 
represents,  sacred  love.  Virgil,  limited  to 
discursive  reasoning,  can  only  infer;  Bernard, 
Beatrice's  second  and  final  instrument,  Con- 
templation in  the  highest  grade,77  recognizes 
and  openly  declares  the  identity : 

"Accid  che  tu  assommi 
Perfettamente,"  disse,  "il  tuo  cammino, 

73  lb.  13  et  seq. 

74  Purg.  xviii,  64-66.    Cf.  Purg.  xvii,  103-105. 

75  Purg.  xxxi,  34-35. 

76  Cf .  Par.  xxv,  52-54. 

77  Cf.  St.  Thomas,  5.  T.  II— II,  clxxx,  4,  3m:  ".    .    .   sex 
designantur  gradus,  quibus  per  creaturas  in  Dei  contem- 


148     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

A  che  prego  ed  amor  santo  mandommi, 
Vola  con  gli  occhi  per  questo  giardino; 
Che  veder  lui  t'acconcera  lo  sguardo 
Piu  al  montar  per  lo  raggio  divino."  78 

Beatrice,  that  is,  "amor  santo,"  "sacred  love," 
sent  him.  In  the  second  tercet  is  again 
illustrated  how,  looking  on  the  beauteous 
flowers  in  the  garden  of  heaven,  Dante  will 
kindle  to  greater  love,  and  greater  love  the 
more  will  sharpen  his  spiritual  sight. 

Again,  I  may  outline,  as  briefly  as  may  be, 
a  longer  and  more  complicated  chain  of 
evidence  towards  the  symbolic  identity  of 
^  Beatrice  and  Charity.  Following  the  sacred 
Love  which  is  Beatrice,  Dante  even  in  this 
life  reaches  to  a  momentary  foretaste  of 
beatitude.  Like  St.  Paul,  he  is  "caught  up  to 
the  third  heaven,"  and  there  sees  God  "face 
to  face."  But  although  his  human  faculty  is 
incapable  of  retaining,  still  less  of  communi- 

plationem  ascenditur.  ...  In  sexto  gradu  ponitur 
consideratio  intelligibilium,  quae  ratio  nee  invenire,  nee 
capere  potest;  quae  scilicet  pertinent  ad  sublimem  con- 
templationem  divinae  veritatis,  in  qua  finaliter  contem- 
platio  perficitur."  St.  Thomas  is  avowedly  following 
Richard  of  St.  Victor,  whom  Dante  later  describes  as  "a 
considerar  .  .  .  piu  che  viro,"  (Par.  x,  132),  and  in 
Epist.  x  cites  together  with  St.  Bernard  to  justify  his  own 
miraculous  rapture. 
78  Par.  xxxi,  94-99. 


THE  "THREE  BLESSED  LADIES"  1 49 

eating,  this  wholly  supersensuous  knowledge, 
yet  he  does  know,  after  his  spirit  has  re- 
descended  to  earth,  that  his  human  will  is 
wholly  conformed  to  God's  will,  and  has 
chosen  forever  the  sacred  Love  which  is  of 
God,  and  of  which  Beatrice  is  reflection  and 
likeness.79  As  Bonaventure  said,  this  Love  of 
God  and  from  God  which  is  charity  "gives 
and  asks  not."  Possessing  it,  or  rather  pos- 
sessed by  it,  Dante  is  drawn  down  from  his 
contemplative  rapture  to  active  service.  For  ^ 
to  suspend  contemplation  to  save  others 
belongs  to  the  highest  perfection  of  charity.80 
Like  Paul,  he  becomes  an  apostle  to  men  of 
the  love  with  which  he,  like  Beatrice,  has 
become  one.  The  Divine  Comedy,  lesson  and 
example  of  how  man  is  saved  by  love,  is  the 
message  of  his  apostleship,  and — because 
Beatrice  is  Love — its  preachment  of  love  is 
also  praise  of  her.  So  preaching,  he  was  ful- 
filling her  dictate : 

"Tu  nota;  e  si  come  da  me  son  porte, 
Cosi  queste  parole  segna  ai  vivi 
Del  viver  ch'e  un  corre  e  alia  morte."  8l 

79  Par.  xxxiii,  140-145. 

80  Cf.  St.  Thomas,  5.  T.  II-II,  clxxxii,  1,  c,  — 3 m. — Til 
Sent,  xxxv,  1,  4,  2. 

81  Purg.  xxxiii,  52-54. 


150     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

And  he  himself  now  knows  that  her  dictate 
and  the  continuing  dictation  of  Love  in  his 
own  mind  are  one  and  the  same : 

"Io  mi  son  un  che,  quando 
Amor  mi  spira,  no  to,  ed  a  quel  modo 
Che  ditta  dentro,  vo  significando."  82 

Moreover,  his  following  of  Love's  dictation  is 
authorized  by  the  first  and  right  vicar  of 
Christ.  83 

In  the  retrospect,  also,  enigmatic  sayings 
are  made  clear.  Virgil's  warning  at  the 
beginning,  that  Dante  may  not  ascend  the 
"delectable  mount"  by  the  direct  way  holds 
true  for  him  now  that  he  is  redeemed  even  as 
it  did  for  him  a  sinner,  though  in  a  different 
spirit.  For  the  virtuous  man,  the  direct  way  is 
by  the  contemplative  life.84  But  so  far  as  one 
is  wholly  absorbed  in  contemplation,  he  may 
neglect  the  temporal  needs  of  others.   So  the 

82  Purg.  xxiv,  52-54.  The  like  numbering  of  the  two 
tercets — 52-54  in  their  cantos — may  be  noted.  It  is 
possible  that,  as  Miss  Ruth  Phelps  has  pointed  out  in 
Modern  Language  Notes  (March,  1921),  Dante  uses  this 
device  among  others  to  bind  together  passages  carrying  a 
common,  or  interrelated,  idea. 

83  Par.  xxvii,  64-66. 

84  Hence  the  symbol  of  the  upright  ladder  in  the  heaven 
of  Saturn.  Cf.  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  1 1 — 1 1,  clxxxii,  2;  clxxx,  vi. 


THE  "THREE  BLESSED  LADIES"  151 

Virtues,  of  whom  Charity  is  the  leader, 
turned  his  absorbed  gaze  from  Beatrice  to 
the  left,  exclaiming  "Troppo  fisol"  85  Atten- 
tion to  the  "left"  is  to  the  duty  of  the  active 
life,  especially  of  provision  for  others.86  So 
Beatrice  herself  had  foretold  that  he  must 
remain  a  while  longer  a  "forester"  in  the  forest 
of  this  world.87  Had  she  herself  not  descended 
into  hell  for  his  sake?  She  was  indeed  im- 
mune from  the  evils  of  hell,88  but  then  so 
Dante  now  was  from  the  beasts,  the  vices, 
which  infest  this  dark  forest.  To  hunt  them 
down  "for  the  sake  of  the  world  that  evil 
lives,"89  he  must  abide  in  patient  service — 
and  even  suffering.  For,  as  he  had  been 
repeatedly  warned  in  his  upward  journey,  in 
spite  of  his  redemption — or  rather  because 
of  it — the  forest  of  this  life  must  become 
darker  than  ever  for  him.  Only,  it  will  no 
longer  be  the  darkness  of  his  own  sinfulness, 
but  the  darkness  of  tribulation  and  sorrow, 
which   shall   overshadow   him   even   as   the 

*r'  Purg.  xxxii,  1-9. 

86  Cf.  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  I— II,  cii,  4,  6m:".  .  .sapientia 
autem  pertinet  ad  dextram,  sicut  et  caetera  spiritualia 
bona:  temporale  autem  nutrimentum  ad  sinistram,"  etc. 

87  Purg.  xxxii,  100-102. 

88  Inf.  ii,  87-93. 

89  Purg.  xxxii,  103. 


152     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

apostle  Paul.  To  this  threat,  as  foretold  by 
the  old  warrior,  his  ancestor  Cacciaguida, 
Dante  had  opposed  a  front  of  moral  stoicism, 
declaring  himself 


"Ben  tetragono  ai  colpi  di  ventura, — " 


90 


a  four-square  tower  whose  walls  are  the 
cardinal  virtues.91  But  although  stoic  virtue 
may  offer  a  brave  front  to  persecution,  none 
the  less  it  feels  the  bitterness  thereof.92  Bea- 
trice offers,  on  the  other  hand,  the  true  con- 
solation of  Christian  love  and  trust  in  God, 
of  charity.93  And  her  loving  voice,  and  the 
love  in  her  eyes,  release  Dante  from  every 
care,  from  every  desire — 

"Fin  che  il  piacere  eterno,  che  diretto 
Raggiava  in  Beatrice,  dal  bel  viso 
Mi  contentava  col  secondo  aspetto."  94 

"The  eternal  bliss"  directly  reflected  upon  her 
face  is,  as  Dante  has  just  said,  love,  and  love 

90  Par.  xvii,  24. 

91  Albertus  Magnus  describes  the  Virgin  as  a  "tower," 
having  "quadraturam  quatuor  cardinalium."  Op.  cit.  XI, 
v,  2. 

92  Par.  xviii,  1-3. 

93  lb.  4-6. 

94  lb.  16-18. 


U1*tTT>T?T*     TIT    T-OOT-T^     x      .  nnM>» 


THE    'THREE  BLESSED  LADIES"  1 53 

is   in   fact   "the   second   aspect"  of   "eternal 

bliss,"  or  beatitude: 

"Si  fonda 
L'esser  beato  nell'  atto  che  vede, 
Non  in  quel  ch'ama,  che  poscia  seconda."  95 

Finally,  Dante's  last  thanksgiving  and 
prayer  to  Beatrice  sums  the  fourfold  effect 
of  her  charity  upon  him  and  within  him.96 
(1)  By  her  loving  mercy  reaching  down  to  the 
hell  of  his  perverse  spirit,  she  has  lifted  him 
up  to  hope.  (2)  By  her  grace  and  goodness  she 
has  shown  him  what  God,  the  Highest  Good, 
is  like,  and  so  confirmed  his  faith.  (3)  By  the 
heat  of  her  charity,  she  has  kindled  in  him 
charity,  and  charity  maketh  free.97  (4)  Let 
her  "magnificence"  so  watch  over  and  keep 
his  healed  soul  that  it  may  be  released  from 
the  body  "pleasing"  to  her  who  is  perfect 
charity.  She  hears  and  fulfils  his  desire;  for 
through  her  own  "prayer  and  holy  love,"  98 

95  Par.  xxviii,  109-111.  //  secondo  aspetto  may  also 
mean  "the  reflected  aspect."  Dante  is  given  to  packing  two 
meanings,  one  more  esoteric  than  the  other,  into  a  word 
or  phrase. 

96  Par.  xxxi,  79-90. 

97  "Charitas,  quae  in  cordibus  nostris  per  Spiritum 
sanctum  diffunditur,  facit  nos  liberos."    St.  Thomas,  S.  T. 

II— II,  Xliv,   I,  2b. 

98  Par.  xxxi,  96. 


154     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

transmitted  by  Bernard,  the  Virgin,  dis- 
penser of  beatitude,  grants  Dante  the  vision 
of  God,  by  which  his  "desire  and  will"  are, 
like  Beatrice's  own,  altogether  moved  by 
perfect  charity."  In  other  words,  by  direct 
revelation  of  God  he  is  assured  of  being  in  a 
state  of  grace,100  and  therefore  pleasing  to 

99  Par.  xxxiii,  143-145.  Dante's  last  prayer  to  Beatrice 
may  be  compared  with  St.  Bonaventure's  psalm  to  the 
Virgin : 

"Domina,   in  coelo  misericordia  tua:  et   gratia  tua 
diffusa  est  super  terram. 

Potentia  et  virtus  in  brachio  tuo:  robur  et  fortitudo 
in  dextera  tua. 

Benedictum     sit     imperium     tuum     super     coelos: 

benedicta  sit  magnificentia  tua  super  terram."    (Psalt. 

majus  b.  Mar.  Virg.  35.) 

In  view  of  the  symbolic — and  real — relationship  between 

Beatrice  and  the  Virgin,  presently  to  be  discussed,  this 

similarity  is  not  likely  to  be  mere  coincidence. 

100  ".  .  .  tripliciter  aliquid  cognosci  potest.  Uno  modo 
per  revelationem :  et  hoc  modo  potest  aliquis  scire  se 
habere  gratiam:  revelat  enim  Deus  hoc  aliquando  aliquibus 
ex  speciali  privilegio,  ut  securitatis  gaudium  etiam  in  hac 
vita  in  eis  incipiat,  et  confidentius,  et  fortius  magnifica 
opera  prosequantur,  et  mala  praesentia  vitae  sustineant, 
sicut  Paulo  dictum  est  2.  ad  Cor.  12 :  Sufficit  tibi  ratia  mea." 
St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  I— II,  cxii,  5,  c.  This  text  is  noteworthy 
in  connection  with  Dante's  confidence  in  his  "magnificum 
opus,"  the  Divine  Comedy,  with  his  noble  endurance  of  exile 
and  persecution,  and  with  his  haunting  consciousness  of 
manifold  likeness  to  St.  Paul.  Cf.  for  his  assurance  of 
grace,  Par.  xxv,  52-57. 


THE  "THREE  BLESSED  LADIES"  1 55 

Beatrice.  It  may  be  repeated,  by  the  way, 
that  although  this  final  and  supreme  revela- 
tion is  obtained  for  Dante  by  Beatrice,  she 
for  that  very  reason  must  symbolize  not  it, 
but  the  means  to  it;  and  again  the  means  to 
the  revelation  of  God,  which  is  beatitude,  is 
charity.  That  beatific  revelation  is  vouch- 
safed to  living  man  only  "by  special  privilege" 
in  the  strongest  sense  of  the  term.  The 
"Dante"  of  the  Comedy,  accordingly,  by  no 
means  represents  typical  Man.101  On  the 
contrary,  thanks  to  the  "miracle"  Beatrice, 
his  grace  is  miraculous.  The  spirits  he  meets 
marvel  at  it,  and  felicitate  him  on  it.102  In 
view  of  the  magnitude  of  her  benefaction, 
therefore,  Beatrice  is  fitly  called  magnifi- 
cent.103 

It  must  be  apparent,  I  think,  from  these 
illustrations  viewed  in  light  of  the  theological 
argument  that  one  aspect  at  least  of  the 
symbolic  Beatrice  is  Charity.  Further  illus- 
trations could  easily  be  given,  but  my  pur- 

101  Cf.  Paget  Toynbee,  Concise  Dante  Dictionary,  s.  n. 
Dante. 

102  Cf.  e.g.,  Purg.  xiii,  145-146;  xiv,  1-15;  xx,  41-42; 
Par.  xxiv,  1-2;  et  al. 

103  "Magnificentia  est  in  maximis  donis  et  sumptibus, 
sed  liberalitas  in  mediocribus."  St.  Thomas,  5.  T.  II— II, 
lx,  5.  c. 


I56     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

pose  is  to  establish  a  case,  not  to  write  a 
commentary.  But  Beatrice  represents  Char- 
ity in  only  one  aspect  of  her  symbolic  func- 
tion. Thus,  having  charity,  she  possesses  also 
the  gifts  of  the  Holy  Spirit,104  and  accordingly 
her  influence  illumines  the  mind  as  well  as 
kindles  the  will.  In  a  secondary  aspect,  there- 
fore, she  represents  "intellectual  light"  {lumen 
intellectuale) ,  and  is  frequently  hailed  as  such. 
So,  for  instance,  Virgil  to  Dante: 

"Veramente  a  cosi  alto  sospetto 

Non  ti  ferma,  se  quella  nol  ti  dice, 
Che  lume  fia  tra  il  vero  e  rintelletto."  105 

This  passage  has  been  cited  as  confirmation 
of  Beatrice  as  Revelation.106  But,  as  has  been 
shown,  there  is  no  revelation,  in  the  right 
sense  of  the  term,  unless  the  recipient  is 
capable  of  understanding  it.  At  the  time 
when  Virgil  speaks,  Dante's  mind  is  not 
"lighted,"  but  "smokes."107  What  Beatrice 
does  is  to  infuse,  through  charity,  the  "intel- 

104  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  I— II,  Ixviii,  5. 

105  Purg.  vi,  43-45. 

106  E.g.,  by  Professor  Grandgent:  "A  question  involving 
the  doctrine  of  grace  transcends  the  power  of  reason,  and 
is  not  to  be  'settled'  without  revelation."  Ed.  Divina 
Commedia,  note  ad  loc. 

107  Cf.  Par.  xxi,  no. 


the  "three  blessed  ladies"        i  57 

lectual  light"  which  she  herself,  possessing, 
represents.108  In  one  more  aspect,  Dante 
becomes  connatural  with  her. 

Among  other  passages  in  which  Beatrice 
figures  specifically  as  the  light-giver,109  there 
is  one  of  capital  importance,  namely,  that  in 
which,  after  his  immersion  in  Lethe,  Dante 
is  vouchsafed  Beatrice's  direct  glance  and  her 
smile.110  The  four  cardinal,  or  moral,  Virtues 
declare  themselves: 

"Noi  sem  qui  ninfe,  e  nel  ciel  semo  stelle. 
Pria  che  Beatrice  discendesse  al  mondo, 
Fummo  ordinate  a  lei  per  sue  ancelle." 

"By  charity  the  acts  of  all  the  other  virtues 
are  ordered  to  the  final  end,"  beatitude.111 
Figuratively,  therefore,  the  other  virtues 
may  be  regarded  as  "handmaids"  of  Charity. 
They  are  then  handmaids  of  Beatrice  as 
Charity  in  two  senses,  according  as  we  take 
the  phrase  "discendesse  al  mondo"  to  mean  her 
mortal  birth,  or  her  descent  from  heaven  to 
Dante  in  the  earthly  paradise.    In  the  first 

10*  Cf.  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  II— II,  xlix,  2,  2m:  ".  .  .  intel- 
lectus,  qui  ponitur  Spiritus  Sancti,  est  quaedam  acuta 
perspectio  divinorum." 

109  E.  g.,  Purg.  viii,  112-114;  xxxiii,  115. 

110  Purg.  xxxi,  103-145. 

111  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  II— II,  xxiii,  8,  c. 


158     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

case,  since  her  dominant  trait  was  pre- 
destined to  be  charity,  her  other  virtues  are 
ancillary  to  that.  In  the  second  case,  in  her, 
as  a  glorified  spirit,  while  charity  is  only 
intensified,112  the  moral  virtues  persist  merely 
formally,  or  in  principle.  For  prudence  in 
heaven  is  without  danger  of  error,  fortitude  is 
without  evil  to  be  endured,  temperance  with- 
out incitement  of  lust;  and  the  one  act  of 
justice  is  submission  to  God.113  And  how  this 
just  submission  is  made  joyous  by  love  is 
made  clear  to  Dante  by  Piccarda 114  and 
Justinian.115  But  while  the  moral  virtues  so 
have  no  material  function  for  the  glorified 
Beatrice,  their  formal  perfection  affects  Dante 
as  model  and  inspiration.  And  thus  they  are 
handmaids  of  her  charity  towards  him,  lead- 
ing him  to  her  eyes,  through  which  her 
charity  radiates,  kindling  and  illumining  his 
soul.  In  other  words,  upon  the  charity  so 
infused  into  him  follow  the  gifts  of  intelli- 
gence (intellectus)  and  wisdom  (sapientia), 
giving  him  an  insight  above  reason  into  the 
mystery  of  the  Incarnation,  the  principle  of 

112  lb.  I— II,  lxvii,  6,  c. 

113  lb.  i,c. 

114  Par.  iii,  70-87. 
116  lb.  vi,  1 18-126. 


THE  "THREE  BLESSED  LADIES"  1 59 

salvation.  So  chanty  deepened,  faith  forti- 
fied, and  hope  renewed,116  he  is  led  by  these 
three  holy  Virtues  to  realize  Beatrice's 
"second  beauty,"  her  smile, — or  beatitude 
reflected  in  her.  For  that  end  to  which  the 
three  holy  virtues  lead  is  beatitude.  Or,  to 
put  the  case  more  fully,  her  smile  signifies 
that  Dante's  soul  is  now  pleasing  to  her,  as 
later  he  prays  it  may  also  be  when  released 
from  the  body.117  And  to  her  as  a  glorified 
spirit  nothing  can  be  pleasing  which  is  not 
also  pleasing  and  acceptable  to  God.  There- 
fore, Dante  is  assured  of  God's  favor,  or 
beatitude.  Or,  once  more,  to  resume  the 
whole  argument  in  technical  terms,  "by  grace 
freely  given"  (gratia  gratis  data)  Beatrice 
cooperates  with  Dante  to  bring  him  to  God. 
Thanks  to  her  efficacious  aid,  he  receives  the 
"grace  which  makes  acceptable"  (gratia  gratum 
faciens),  "by  which  man  is  united  to  God."  118 
Since,    according   to    the    physiological-psy- 

116  Cf.  the  in  principle  identical  statement  in  Conv.  Ill, 
xiv,  113-141. 

117  Par.  xxxi,  88-90. 

118  "Duplex  est  gratia.  Una  quidem,  per  quam  ipse  homo 
Deo  conjungitur,  quae  vocatur  gratia  gratum  faciens:  alia 
vero,  per  quam  unus  homo  cooperatur  alteri  ad  hoc, 
quod  ad  Deum  reducatur:  hujusmodi  autem  donum 
vocatur  gratia  gratis  data"  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  I— II,  cxi,  1,  c. 


160     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

chology  of  love,119  her  love — which  is  charity 
— proceeds  on  the  ray  from  her  eyes  through 
his  into  his  heart,  there  kindling  charity,  so 
her  eyes  may  poetically  be  regarded  as  the 
efficient  cause  of  the  effect  of  charity  in  him, 
or  gift  of  wisdom,  by  which  he  more  inti- 
mately knows  God.  Or,  by  ellipsis,  he  may 
fitly  call  her  eyes  "principio  di  Amove"  120 
and,  in  reference  to  her  having  the  gift  of 
wisdom,  "demonstrations  of  wisdom,  by 
which  truth  is  seen  with  certainty."  m  For 
such  is  the  power  of  the  "divine  instinct" 
infused  by  the  "gift  of  wisdom."  Again,  the 
end  or  final  cause,  of  his  infused  grace  of 
charity  is  union  with  God,  or  beatitude. 
That  supremely  desirable  consummation  is 
what  draws,  or  persuades,  his  will,  as  the 
splendor  of  a  light  draws  the  moth.  So,  since 
again  according  to  love-psychology,  the  be- 
loved's smile  signifies  the  "end  of  love,"  or 
reward  of  her  favor,122  by  which  the  lover  is 
persuaded  to  service,  so,  once  more  by  ellipti- 
cal statement,  Beatrice's  smile  is  called  the 
"persuasions  of  Wisdom,  by  which  is  demon- 

119  Cf.  Conv.  II,  xi,  32-48. 

120  V.  N.  xix,  133. 

121  Conv.  Ill,  xv,  12-15.    Cf.  Inf.  x,  130-132:  her  eyes 
"see  all." 

122  V.  N.  xix,  133-134. 


the  "three  blessed  ladies"        i6i 

strated  the  interior  light  of  Wisdom  under  a 
certain  veil."  123  To  Dante,  now  in  full  con- 
duct of  the  three  holy  virtues,  however, 
Beatrice  accords  the  grace  of  removing  this 
veil.124  His  intuitive  power  is  proportioned  to 
his  increased  charity,  and  his  eyes  are  of  one 
"whose  wit  is  in  the  flame  of  love  adult."  125 
Therefore  they  are  able  to  look  upon  Wis- 
dom's end,  Truth,  directly,  as  the  "splendor 
of  the  living  light  eternal,"  and  no  longer 
merely  upon  its  "pallid"  reflection  in  the 
"Parnassus  well"  of  human  reasoning.126  So 
the  "new  intelligence  which  Love  has  given,"127 
wisdom  as  a  divine  gift  and  effect  of  charity, 
transcends  his  old  wisdom,  that  was  but  an 
"intellectual  virtue."  Reciprocally,  the  new- 
seen  splendor  of  Truth  strengthens  his  love 
of  it  anew,  and  that  new-strengthened  love 
will  induce  new  and  deeper  insight,  and  this 
cumulative  process  is  renewed  until,  God's 
infinity  directly  seen  and  loved,  there  is  no 
farther  to  go : 

"Di  la  dal  qual  non  e  a  che  si  aspiri."  128 

123  Conv.  Ill,  xv,  1 6-1 8. 

124  Purg.  xxxi,  136-138. 

125  Par.  vii,  59-60. 

126  Purg.  xxxi,  1 39- 14 1. 

127  V.  N.  xlii,  49-50. 

128  purg.  xxxi,  24. 


1 62     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

So  that  final  consummation,  or  beatitude,  is 
the  end  of  a  causal  series,  alternately  efficient 
and  proximately  final,  of  which  the  factors 
are  Beatrice's  eyes  and  smile;  and  hence 
Dante  could  say  in  the  Convivio  that  "in 
queste  due  si  sente  quel  piacere  altissimo  di 
beatitudine,  il  qual  e  massimo  bene  in  Para- 
diso."  129  In  other  words,  the  visible  Beatrice 
was  for  Dante  the  live  symbol,  or  "shadowy 
preface,"  of  Beatitude,  final  cause  of  his 
redemption,  as  well  as  the  live  symbol  of 
Charity,  efficient  cause  thereof.  Or  rather, 
she  symbolizes  the  former  also,  precisely 
because  she  symbolizes  the  latter.  For  the 
whole  causal  sequence  is  reducible  to  this: 
charity  generates  vision,  vision  charity.130 
So  is  justified  the  implication  of  "beatitude" 
which  Dante  found  in  the  name  of  Beatrice.131 
I  have  dwelt  upon  this  episode  at  perhaps 
disproportionate  length.    Some  justification 

129  III,  xv,  18-20. 

130  Cf.  St.  Thomas,  II  Sent,  i,  1:  "Causa  finalis  et  causa 
efficiens  coincidunt."  Also,  Contra  Gent.  Ill,  xvii:  "Finis 
ultimus  cujuslibet  facientis,  in  quantum  est  faciens,  est 
ipsemet." 

131  V.  N.  ii,  6-8, — in  the  light  of  Cino's  interpretation 
in  his  canzone  responsive  to  the  third  canzone  of  the 
New  Life:  "Gia  te  n'ei'n  ciel  gita, 

Beata  gioia,  com'chiamava  il  nome!" 
(Avegna  chHo-non-aggio,  11.  7-8.) 


THE  "THREE  BLESSED  LADIES"  1 63 

may  lie,  however,  in  that  it  condenses  in  a 
brief  action  the  symbolic  procedure  of  the 
Comedy  and — to  some  extent — of  the  New 
Life  and  Banquet  as  well.  And  incidentally,  it 
illustrates  how  without  confusion  or  incon- 
sistency a  live  symbol  like  Beatrice  can — or 
rather  must — signify,  or  "stand  for,"  more 
than  one  thing,  though  in  due  proportion. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  offers  a  difficulty. 
There  is  presented  on  the  allegorical  stage  a 
personification  of  Charity,  one  of  the  Virtues, 
the  seven  handmaids  of  Beatrice.  If  Beatrice 
symbolizes  Charity,  how  can  she  have  a 
"handmaid"  also  personifying  Charity? 

I  answer,  as  I  think  the  scholastic  Dante 
himself  would,  by  saying, — Distinguo.  The 
charity  which  Beatrice  symbolizes  is  divine 
charity,  or  charitas  in  patria;  the  charity 
which  the  handmaid  personifies  is  human 
charity,  or  charitas  in  via.  There  is  a  real 
distinction  between  the  two,  since,  although 
they  have  a  common  object  in  God,  their 
powers  of  apprehending  God  differ.  Charity 
of  heaven  knows  its  object  by  immediate 
intuition;  charity  of  earth  by  faith.  The 
latter  therefore  cannot  reach  to  the  perfection 
of  the  former.132 

132  Cf.  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  I-II,  lxvii,  6,  2m-$™. 


164     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

This  distinction  between  herself  and  her 
handmaid  is,  I  think,  borne  out,  and  speci- 
fically applied,  by  Beatrice  herself.  After  the 
mime  of  sensual  love  and  brutal  jealousy  has 
been  enacted  by  the  harlot  of  the  Church  and 
the  giant  of  the  Empire,133  the  seven  Virtues 
chant  a  psalm  of  desolation  at  the  defilement 
of  the  Church.134  What  this  defilement  is, 
Dante  does  not  leave  to  guesswork.  In  the 
mimic  scene  it  is  indeed  lust,  with  which 
holy  love  could  not  consort.  But  the  literal 
indictment  of  sensual  passion  has  a  broader 
intention ;  and  for  the  detailed  counts  Dante 
gives  a  characteristic  reference.  Beatrice, 
"colorata  come  foco,"  135  comforts  her  weeping 
handmaids.  Later,  likewise  discolored  from 
white  to  red,  St.  Peter  details  the  abuses  of 
his  successors.136  Both  he  and  Beatrice 
prophesy  vengeance  to  come,  and  reform. 
Both  call  upon  Dante  to  denounce  the  evil, 
and  to  announce  the  reformer.  The  passages 
are  parallel,  only  whereas  in  the  first  Dante 
is  shown  a  scene  of  lust,  in  the  second  he  is 
told  plainly  of  a  broader  group  of  vices.   St. 

133  Purg.  xxxii,  136-160. 

134  Purg.  xxxiii,  1-3. 

135  Purg.  xxxiii,  9. 

136  Par.  xxvii,  10-66. 


THE  "THREE  BLESSED  LADIES"  1 65 

Peter  arraigns  the  Church  for  money-greed, 
offensive  partisanship  and  incitement  of  war 
on  Christians,  of  simony,  rapacity,  hypo- 
crisy, and  usury.  Immediately  after  St. 
Peter's  invective,  Beatrice  again  shows  Dante 
the  earth, 

"L'aiuola  che  ci  fa  tanto  feroci."  m 

She  contrasts  with  the  Empyrean  girt  in  with 
"light  and  love,"  its  dim  wretchedness,  and 
exclaims : 

"O  cupidigia,  che  i  mortali  affonde 
Si  sotto  te,  che  nessuno  ha  potere 
Di  trarre  gli  occhi  f uor  delle  tue  onde !"  138 

"Cupidity,"  which  turns  the  eyes  of  desire 
from  eternal  to  temporal  things,  is  the  root, 
not  only  of  the  special  vices  denounced  by 
St.  Peter,  but  also  of  all  evils  and  all  sins.139 

137  Par.  xxii,  151.    Cf.  Par.  xxvii,  85-86. 

138  Par.  xxvii,  121-123. 

139  Cf.  St.  Thomas,  S.T.  I— II,  lxxxiv,  1,  c:  ".  .  . 
secundum  quosdam  cupiditas  tripliciter  dicitur.  Uno  modo, 
prout  est  appetitus  inordinatus  divitiarum,  et  sic  est 
speciale  peccatum.  Alio  modo,  secundum  quod  significat 
inordinatum  appetitum  cuiuscumque  boni  temporalis,  et 
sic  est  genus  omnis  peccati;  nam  in  omni  peccato  est 
inordinata  conversio  ad  commutabile  bonum,  ut,  dictum 
est.  Tertio  modo  sumitur,  prout  significat  quamdam 
inclinationem    naturae    corruptae    ad    bona    corruptibilia 


1 66     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

The  original  charge,  symbolically  brought 
against  the  Church,  of  carnal  lust,  is  thus 
broadened  to  cupidity,  a  term  the  intention 
of  which  ranges  from  avarice  in  particular  to 
concupiscence  in  general.  Now  Virgil  estab- 
lished for  Dante  the  conclusion: 

"Quinci  comprender  puoi  ch'esser  conviene 
Amor  sementa  in  voi  d'ogni  virtute 
E  d'ogni  operazion  che  merta  pene."  140 

And  all  love  is  divided  into  "love  of  friend- 
ship" and  "love  of  concupiscence/' 141  Love  of 
friendship  wills  the  good  of  the  beloved ;  love 
of  concupiscence  wills  one's  own  good.142 
Charity  is  the  "love  of  friendship"  directed  to 
God.143  And  since  the  two  kinds  of  love  are 
mutually  exclusive,  where  the  love  of  con- 
cupiscence is,  charity  cannot  be.    Hence  the 

inordinate  appetenda,  et  sic  dicunt  cupiditatem  esse 
radicem  omnium  peccatorum  ad  similitudinem  radicis 
arboris,  quae  ex  terra  trahit  alimentum;  sic  enim  ex  amore 
rerum  temporalium  omne  peccatum  procedit." 

140  Purg.  xvii,  103-105. 

141  St.  Thomas,  5.  T.  I— II,  xxvi,  4. 

142  "...  ille  proprie  dicitur  amicus,  cui  aliquod 
bonum  volumus:  illud  autem  dicitur  concupiscere,  quod 
volumus  nobis."   lb. 

143  So  Francesca  implies  that  God  is  not  her  friend 
(amico).   Inf.  v,  91. 


THE  "THREE  BLESSED  LADIES"  1 67 

pertinence  of  Beatrice's  words  to  her  grieving 
handmaids : 

"Modicum,  et  non  videbitis  me, 
Et  iterum,  sorelle  mie  dilette, 
Modicum,  et  vos  videbitis  me!"  144 

The  Church,  and  because  of  its  bad  example, 
the  world,  is  full  of  the  love  of  concupiscence. 
Therefore,  there  is  no  place  in  it  for  her,  who 
is  altogether  the  "love  of  friendship,"  charity. 
When  the  predestined  Veltro  shall  have 
driven  out  that  "ancient  she-wolf  of  cupid- 
ity," she  will  return.145  Moreover,  the  Scrip- 
tural context  from  which  Beatrice  quotes, 
makes  the  same  point.  Christ  has  declared 
love  to  be  the  one  commandment  he  lays 

144  Purg.  xxxiii,  10-12. 

145  It  seems  supererogatory  to  dispute  the  significance  of 
the  she-wolf  of  the  dark  forest  when  Dante  himself  iden- 
tifies it  for  us  with  Cupidigia.  (Cf.  Purg.  xx,  10-12.)  I 
concur  in  the  objection  to  Avarice  as  the  interpretation, 
since  Dante  certainly  nowhere  hints  at  any  personal 
proneness  to  that  mean  vice.  But  cupidity,  in  scholastic 
usage,  connotes  not  only  avarice,  but  also  the  most  basic 
of  all  vices,  that  self-interest  in  the  goods  of  this  world 
which  is  the  opposite  and  enemy  of  the  charity  which 
leads  to  the  true  Good,  God.  It  is  the  error  of  Dante  which 
lost  Dante  the  salutation  of  Beatrice,  since  his  love  of  her 
was  not  like  noble  love, — the  love,  that  is,  which  is  of 
friendship,  or  charity.    (V.  N.  xii,  xviii.) 


1 68     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

upon  his  disciples.146  It  is  the  "love  of  friend- 
ship," charity,  which  gives,  not  asks.147  The 
world,  on  the  other  hand,  is  full  of  the  "love 
of  concupiscence:"  "If  the  world  hate  you,  ye 
know  that  it  hated  me  before  it  hated  you. 
If  ye  were  of  the  world,  the  world  would  love 
his  own:  but  because  ye  are  not  of  the  world, 
but  I  have  chosen  you  out  of  the  world, 
therefore  the  world  hateth  you."  148  There- 
fore, he  will  leave  them  for  a  little,  but  only 
for  a  little.  And  he  promises  to  send  the 
Comforter,  the  "spirit  of  truth,"  whose  name 
is  Love.149 

Manifestly,  Dante  is  drawing  analogy 
between  Christ  with  his  grieving  disciples  and 
Beatrice  with  her  grieving  handmaids.  The 
analogy  is  complicated  and  perhaps  imperfect, 
but  it  may  account,  I  think,  for  the  duplicated 
role  of  Charity  in  Beatrice  and  the  personified 
virtue.  Christ,  whose  spirit  and  command- 
ment are  altogether  of  true  love,  departs  from 
the  world  of  base  love,  yet  will  leave  behind 
in  the  chosen  few  the  spirit  of  true  love,  the 
Comforter.150  Beatrice,  as  true  love,  is  driven 

146  John  xv,  12. 

147  lb.  13. 

148  lb.  18-19. 

149  lb.  26.  Cf.  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  I,  xxxvii,  1. 
160  Cf.  J  Cor.  xiii,  13. 


THE  "THREE  BLESSED  LADIES"  1 69 

out  of  the  basely  loving  Church  and  world, 
yet  leaves  behind  in  the  hearts  of  the  chosen 
few — and  especially  in  Dante's  heart — the 
spirit  of  true  love.  For  the  seven  virtues  are 
all  implicit  in  their  "form,"  or  determining 
principle,  charity.  In  other  words,  Beatrice 
is  Charity  as  it  is  in  heaven,  in  the  heart  of 
Mary;  the  personified  Virtue,  her  coexistent 
but  not  coequal  handmaid,  is  charity  as  it 
exists  on  earth,  in  the  hearts  of  Mary's 
servants, — in  Dante's,  for  instance.  As  this 
human  spirit  of  charity  is  a  diminished  replica 
of  the  divine  spirit  of  charity,  there  is  perfect 
allegorical  propriety  in  calling  the  former  a 
little  "sister"  of  the  latter,  and  no  allegorical 
impropriety  in  bringing  the  two  face  to  face. 
Dante,  and  Christian  theologians  generally, 
built  up  an  elaborate  system  of  symbolic 
imagery  from  the  obvious  analogy  between 
beneficent  God  and  the  Sun  which  radiates 
light  and  heat,  the  two  prime  vitalizing  forces. 
Not  only  is  God  therefore  called  the  Sun,151 
but  also  by  extension  any  active  agency 
transmitting  the  divine  influence  may  be  so- 
called  and  be  accredited  with  powers  figura- 
tively paralleling  those  of  the  physical  Sun. 
Thus  Beatrice,  infusing  into  Dante  the  light 

161  Cf.  e.  g.,  Par.  x,  53. 


170     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

of  wisdom   and   the   ardor   of   love,    is    ac- 
claimed as  his  Sun : 

"Quel  sol,  che  pria  d'amor  mi  scaldd  il  petto, 
Di  bella  verita  m'avea  scoperto,"  etc.152 

In  truth,  that  two-powered  ray  emanating 
from  her  really  has  its  ultimate  source  in  the 
divine  Sun,  God.153  The  divine  ray  shines  also 
upon  him,  but  hitherto  has  found  his  mind 
opaque  to  its  glory.154  To  be  illumined,  he 
needed  the  reenforcement  of  her  nearer  light. 
Not  only  was  the  Sun  accepted  as  symbol 
of  the  one  God,  but  the  active  process  of  the 
Sun  was  conceived  to  represent  the  actual 
procession  of  the  triune  God.  The  Father  is 
the  Sun  itself;  the  Son,  its  ray  or  splendor  of 
light;  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  heat  emanating 
from  both  the  Sun  itself  and  its  ray.155  Also, 

152  par     Hlt    j_2f 

153  Cf.  Par.  v,  1-6. 

154  lb.  6-12. 

155  «per  soiem  saepius  interpretatur  Pater,  per  radium 
vel  splendorem  solis  Filius  qui  est  splendor  gloriae  et 
figura  Patris  (Ad  Hebr.  i,  3),  per  calorem  Spiritus  sanctus, 
de  quo  dicitur:  Nee  est  qui  se  abscondat  a  colore  ejus. 
(Psal.  xviii,  7.)  Spiritus  enim  sanctus  est  amor  Patris  et 
Filii.  Sicut  autem  radius  vel  splendor  solis,  ex  quo  sol 
fuit,  processit  a  sole  et  procedit  semperque  procedet:  sic 
Filius  aeternaliter  procedit  a  Patre.  Et  sicut  calor  aeter- 
naliter  procedit   tarn  a  sole  quam  a  radio:   sic  Spiritus 


THE  "THREE  BLESSED  LADIES"  171 

"in  the  Sun  which  circles  the  machine  of  the 
world,  is  signified  the  power  of  the  Father;  in 
the  splendor  which  illumines  all,  the  wisdom 
of  the  Son;  in  the  fervor  which  warms  all,  the 
benevolence  of  the  Holy  Spirit."  156  So  the 
Empyrean,  which  exists  only  in  the  divine 
mind,157  and  typifies  that  mind,  is  said  to  be 
"pure  light,"— 

"Luce  intellettiial  piena  d'amore, 

Amor  di  vero  ben  pien  di  letizia."  158 

This  triplicity  of  generating-power,  light, 
and  heat  of  the  Trinity  as  the  divine  Sun  is 
transferred  by  analogy  to  lesser  illuminating 
agencies  as  Suns.  Thus  immediately  under 
the  Trinity,  but  above  the  three  hierarchies 
of  the  angels,  the  Virgin  is  posited  as  con- 
stituting a  hierarchy  by  herself,  and  as  a  Sun 
from  which  proceeds  light  and  heat  in  the 
same  fashion  as  from  the  Trinity.159    The 

sanctus  ab  utroque,  id  est,  Filio  et  Patre."  Albert.  Mag., 
De  laud.  b.  Mar.  Virg.  XII,  v,  1,  2. 

156  lb. 

167  Par.  xxvii,  109-110. 

168  Par.  xxx,  40-41. 

159  E.  g.  (Maria)  "ideo  etiam  dicitur  electa  ut  sol  (Cantic. 
vi,  9)  ...  ad  illuminandum,  scilicet  intellectum  per 
veram  cognitionem,  et  inflammandum  affectum  per  veram 
dilectionem."  Albert.  Mag.  op.  cit.  VII,  iii,  1. 


172     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

church  writers  ring  all  possible  changes  on  the 
symbol  itself,  and  on  its  derivatives.  As 
Albert  says,  "Mary  is  compared  to  light  with 
manifold  propriety.  .  .  .  For  she  is  the  light 
which  after  the  Son  illumines  every  light."  16° 
So  from  her  is  the  light  which  comes  to  Dante 
in  the  dark  wood.161  For  he  has  constantly 
invoked  her  name.162  And  the  light  of  the 
Sun  of  Mary  has  so  healed  and  purified  his 
eyes,  half -blinded  with  sin,  that  at  last  they 
are  able  to  endure  the  direct  ray  of  the  "Sun 
of  the  angels,"  God.163  For  it  is  only  "sick 
eyes"  that  are  dazzled  by  the  sun;  to  them, 
become  sound,  the  Sun's  glory  is  as  grateful 
as  to  the  eyes  of  an  eagle.164   Dante  dramat- 

160  lb.  VII,  x,  i. 

161  "Ideo  etiam  illuminatrix:  quia  cunctis  se  imploranti- 
bus  humiliter  et  devote  impetrat  lucem  verae  cognitionis. 
.  .  .  Unde  quotiens  sentimus  nos  esse  in  tenebris, 
debemus  nos  ei  nomen  suum  commemorare  orantes  ut 
illud  interpretatur  in  nobis,  ne  falso  ei  impositum  videatur." 
lb.  I,  i,  2,  fi. 

162  Par.  xxiii,  88-89. 

163  Maria  lux  "quia  oculos  illuminat,  id  est,  intellectum 
et  affectum,  qui  sunt  oculi  animae.  Intellectum  cognitione 
sui  et  Dei,  affectum  dilectione  Dei  et  proximi."  Op.  cit. 
VII,  x,  1.  Cf.  Par.  xxxiii,  25-27;  Purg.  xxvi,  58-60; 
Professione  di  Fede,  232-240. 

164  "Sol  aegris  oculis  nocivus  non  ex  vitio  suo,  sed  ex 
vitio  oculorum.  .  .  .  Unde,  Eccle.  xi,  7:  Dulce  lumen  et 
delectabile  est  oculis  videre  solem.    Et  hoc  est  quod  dicit 


THE  "THREE  BLESSED  LADIES"  1 73 

ically  insists  upon  the  gradual  strengthening 
and  purifying  of  his  physical  vision  as  he 
ascends  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  divine  Sun. 
He  starts  "blind"  with  sin — 

"Quinci  vo  su  per  non  esser  piu  cieco."  165 

After  the  murk  of  hell,  the  mild  light  of  the 
dawning  sun  comforts  his  eyes  on  the  shore  of 
the  mount  of  purgatory.166  It  is  the  first 
positive  application,  symbolically  speaking, 
of  the  cleansing  medicament  of  light  which  is 
to  fulfil  Cato's  requirement  that 

".    .    .   non  si  converria  l'occhio  sorpriso 

D'alcuna  nebbia  andar  dinanzi  al  primo 
Ministro,  ch'e  di  quei  di  Paradise"167 

Light  is  the  necessary  and  immediate  medium 
of  vision,168  but  given  in  excess  it  blinds.  It 
must   be   accommodated,   therefore,   to   the 

Gregorius  de  Domino:  "Ipse  incommutabilis  in  se  per- 
manens,  aliter  atque  aliter  sentitur  in  cogitatione  hominum 
pro  qualitate  vitiorum,  sicut  lux  aegris  oculis  odiosa,  sanis 
autem  gratiosa,  eorum  videlicet  mutatione,  non  suo." 
lb.  XII,  v,  i,  5. 

165  pUrg,  xxvi,  58. 

mPurg.  i,  16-18. 

167  Purg.  i,  97-99. 

168  "Lumen  est  medium  in  omni  sensu.  Sed  in  visu 
immediate,  in  aliis  autem  sensibus,  mediantibus  aliis 
qualitatibus."  St.  Thomas,  II  Sent,  xiii,  3,  c.  fi. 


174     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

visual  power  of  the  recipient.  And  figura- 
tively, light  signifies  truth.169  In  one  aspect, 
therefore,  the  whole  process  of  Dante's 
spiritual  ascent  consists  in  the  accommoda- 
tion of  his  eyes,  physical  and  spiritual,  to 
brighter  and  brighter  light. 

As  said,  the  ultimate  source — so  far  as 
purblind  humanity  is  concerned — of  this 
healing  and  guiding  light  is  the  Sun  of 
Mary.170  If  now  the  Virgin  is  in  herself  thus 
conceived  as  a  self-active  light-giving  and 
heat-giving  Sun,  she  may  also  be  conceived  as 
embodying  in  herself  the  three  aspects  of  the 
Trinity.  By  analogy,  also,  these  three  aspects 
may,  as  in  the  Trinity,  be  hypostatized  as 
Persons.  Naturally,  in  a  so  resulting  second- 
ary Trinity,  the  one  real  divine  Person  is 
Mary  herself.  She,  the  divine  Mother, 
assumes  the  role  of  the  divine  Father,  and 

169  "(Nomen  lucis)  primo  quidem  est  institutum  ad 
significandum  id,  quod  facit  manifestationem  in  sensu 
visus,  postmodum  autem  extensum  est  ad  significandum 
omne  illud,  quod  facit  manifestationem  secundum  quam- 
cumque  cognitionem."   St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  I,  lxvii,  I,  c. 

170  Cf.,  e.g.,  Albert.  Mag.,  op.  cit.  VII,  iii,  9:  "Qui  in 
solem  defigit  oculos,  a  posteriori  ponit  umbram  suam. 
Similiter  qui  cordis  oculos,  intellectum  videlicet  et  affectum 
constanter  defigeret  in  hunc  solem,  Mariae  recolens 
paupertatem,  umbram  rerum  labentium  facillime  addor- 
saret.   Sed   .    .    .   pauci  sunt  tales." 


the  "three  blessed  ladies"        i  75 

represents  in  the  solar  symbolism  the  Sun 
itself,  or  generating-power  of  Light.  As  such, 
she  sends  forth  a  light-ray;  and  from  the 
light-ray  and  the  Sun  both  there  is  emitted 
heat.  As  we  have  seen,  in  the  actual  Trinity 
the  Son  is  conceived  as  the  light-ray,  the 
Holy  Spirit  as  the  emitted  heat.  Dante's 
invention  was  to  fill  out  the  'Marian'  Trinity 
with  the  two  functionally  apposite  persons 
St.  Lucia  and  Beatrice.  Such  is  the  symbolic 
bond  of  unity  between  the  "three  blessed 
ladies."  Recognizing  it,  we  must  modify  in  so 
far  forth  the  symbolic  value  of  Beatrice  as 
already  denned.  Fundamentally,  Beatrice 
symbolizes  Charity,  but  not  charity  in  the 
abstract,  nor  yet  merely  the  inherent  and 
dominant  virtue  of  Bice  Portinari,  but  the 
charity  of  the  Virgin-mother  herself.171  Be  it 
said  emphatically,  however,  that  the  role 
in  no  wise  discredits  or  diminishes  the 
actuality  of  Beatrice  herself  as  for  Dante  a 
beneficent  ally  in  heaven.  By  loving-service 
of  the  Virgin  she  has  become  in  her  degree 
"connatural"  with  the  Virgin.  Dante's  fiction 
is  simply  to  extend  a  discipular  likeness  to  its 

171  Hence  the  maternal  attitude  assumed  by  Beatrice 
in  paradise,  and  accepted  by  Dante,  even  though,  humanly 
speaking,  she  was  younger  than  he. 


176     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

ideal  limit  of  spiritual  coalescence.  And 
indeed,  so  far  as  he  personally  was  concerned, 
Beatrice  did  in  a  sense  fill  the  role.  What 
Mary's  love  effects  for  all  the  world  (including 
him),  Beatrice  effected  for  him  alone. 

For  the  lover  of  Beatrice  to  identify  her, 
symbolically,  with  the  all-merciful  love  of 
Mary  was  natural  enough.  The  choice  of 
St.  Lucia  to  represent  the  second  Person  of 
this  secondary  Trinity  is,  on  the  other  hand, 
rather  characteristic  of  Dante's  scholastically 
subtle  ingenuity  than,  I  think,  of  any  deep 
personal  loyalty.  Her  name  signifies  "light;" 
she  was  specially  accredited  with  the  power  of 
healing  weak  eyes;  St.  Bonaventure  names 
her  as  among  the  special  votaries  of  Mary;172 
in  the  Golden  Legend  her  life  is  assimilated  to 
Mary's — she  is  resolutely  virginal;  she  calls 
herself  "ancilla  Dei;"  her  nurse  tells  her, 
Lucia's,  rejected  lover  that  Lucia  is  "sponsa 
Dei."  For  this  presumed  close  likeness  to  the 
Virgin  she  would  reflect  her  light  most 
intensely : 

"Che  l'ardor  santo  ch'ogni  cosa  raggia, 
Nella  piu  simigliante  e  piu  vivace."  17s 

172  "Honorificate  earn  (Mariam)  in  voce  labiorum 
vestrorum:  per  hoc  ejus  gratiam  Agatha,  Lucia,  Margarita, 
et  Cecilia  susceperunt."  Psalt.  maj.  b.  Mar.  Virg.  xiv,  4. 

173  Par.  vii,  74-75. 


THE  "THREE  BLESSED  LADIES"  1 77 

Dante,  who  actually  suffered  from  weak 
eyes,174  may  have  really  become  her  votary 
(fedele),  as  Mary  calls  him,  for  the  sake  of 
Lucia's  supposed  healing  power.  Whether  he 
was  or  not,  however,  is  of  no  great  impor- 
tance. For  in  the  Comedy,  the  eyes  of  his  that 
are  really  healed  are  the  "eyes  of  the  soul," 
intellect  and  will,  and  by  the  light  of  wisdom 
and  the  heat  of  charity. 

Considered  in  and  by  herself  therefore, 
Lucia  in  the  poem  is  the  symbol — or  perhaps 
more  accurately,  the  hypostasis — of  the  light 
which  emanates  from  Mary.175  Beatrice  is 
the  symbol — or  hypostasis — of  the  heat  which 
emanates  from  Mary  and  Lucia.  The  dis- 
tinction, therefore,  between  Lucia  and  Bea- 
trice is  not  absolute,  but  analogous  to  that 
between  the  Son  and  the  Holy  Spirit.  The 
procession  of  the  Son,  or  the  Word,  is  by  the 
mode  of  the  intellect,  which  is  Wisdom;  that 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  by  the  mode  of  the  Will, 
which  is  Love.176  Extending  the  analogy  into 

174  Cf.  Conv.  Ill,  ix,  147-157. 

175  Cf.  St.  Bonaventure's  prayer  of  Mary,  beginning: 
"Emitte  lucem  tuam."  Psalt.  maj.  b.  Mar.  Virg.,  Ps.  142,  ft. 

176  ".  .  .  in  divinis  .  .  .  duae  processiones,  una  per 
modum  intellectus,  quae  est  processio  Verbi,  alia  per 
modum  voluntatis,  quae  est  processio  amoris,"  i.  e.  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.   St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  xxxvii,  1. 


I78     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

a  symbolic  identity,  we  may  say  that  Lucia  is 
the  Word  of  Mary,  and  Beatrice  the  Love  of 
Mary,  and  that  their  respective  functions  in 
the  salvation  of  Dante  are  developed  from  the 
dramatic  application  of  this  symbolic  identity. 

"Pero  se  il  caldo  Amor  la  chiara  Vista 
Delia  prima  Virtu  dispone  e  segna, 
Tutta  la  perfezione  quivi  s'acquista."  m 

Dante  is  here  speaking,  no  doubt,  of  the 
collaboration  of  the  primal  Trinity,  but  in 
respect  to  man's  redemption  analogous  col- 
laboration holds  of  what  I  may  call  the 
secondary,  or  Marian,  Trinity,  as  Dante 
symbolically  conceives  it. 

In  the  dramatic  action,  by  Lucia  was  the 
Word  of  Mary  passed  to  Beatrice.  And 
Beatrice,  first  through  Virgil,  and  then 
directly,  manifests  the  Word  to  Dante.  So 
Beatrice  may  also  be  said  to  represent  the 
Word.  In  Christian  theology,  Christ  is 
properly  speaking  the  Word  of  the  Father, 
but  in  so  far  as  the  Holy  Spirit  manifests  the 
Word,  the  Holy  Spirit  may  figuratively 
speaking  be  called  the  Word.178  So  Beatrice, 

177  Par.  xiii,  79-81. 

178  "Quod  vero  Basilius  interpretatur  verbum  pro 
Spirito  Sancto,  improprie,  et  flgurate  locutus  est,  prout 


THE  "THREE  BLESSED  LADIES"  1 79 

manifesting  the  Word  of  the  Mother  of 
Christ,  may  be  figuratively  identified  with 
Christ;  in  which  case  the  clue  is  offered  to  a 
mysterious  compliment  to  her  in  the  Comedy. 
She  is  about  to  expound  the  Incarnation  and 
Passion  of  Christ  in  response  to  Dante's 
desire  unspoken  through  timid  reverence.  So 
Dante  declares : 

"Ma  quella  riverenza  che  s'indonna 
Di  tuttome,  pur  per  BE  e  per  ICE, 
Mi  richinava  come  l'uom  ch'assonna."  l7s 

This  is  commonly  understood  to  mean  that  if 
he  was  reverent  before  the  earthly  Bice,  how 
much  more  so  before  the  heavenly  Beatrice. 
The  artifice  is  elaborate  for  so  simple  a  point. 
Now  it  will  be  noted  that  when  we  say  first 
Be  and  then  ICE  wre  sound  three  letters  of 
the  Italian  alphabet, — B,  I,  and  C.  To  any 
medieval  Catholic,  the  letter  I  followed  by 
the  letter  C  would  inevitably  suggest  Zesus 
Christus.  Again,  in  all  Latin  religious  writing 
B.  before  a  proper  name  means  Beatus;  and 
the   epithet  belongs  to   Christ   in   both  his 

verbum  alicujus  dici  potest  omne  illud,  quod  est  mani- 
festativum  ejus,  ut  sic  ea  ratione  dicatur  Spiritus  Sanctus 
verbum  Filii,  quia  manifestat  Filium."  St.  Thomas,  5.  T. 
I,  xxxiv,  2,  5m. 

179  Par.  vii,  13-15. 


l8o     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

humanity  and  his  divinity.180  The  name 
Bice  therefore  subtly  implies  analogy  between 
its  owner  and  Christ.  And  as  from  Bice 
comes  Beatrice,  so  from  Christ  comes  beati- 
tude, which  Beatrice  by  name  and  act 
signifies. 

Again,  though  properly  speaking,  the 
Word  signifies  the  second  Person  of  the 
Trinity,  figuratively  speaking  it  may  signify 
the  Word  of  Christ  as  recorded  for  mankind 
in  Scripture.  "Principal  author"  of  Scripture, 
however,  is  the  Holy  Spirit,  who,  acting 
through  the  instrumental  authors — and  espe- 
cially Mary,  in  it  has  manifested  the  deeper 
mysteries  of  God.181  Beatrice,  corresponding 
in  function  to  the  Holy  Spirit  as  well  as 
associated  with  Mary,  manifests  mysteries  of 

180  Cf.  St.  Thomas,  Cont.  Gent.  I,  c:  Quod  Deus  est 
beatus. 

181  ".  .  .  auctor  principalis  sacrae  Scripturae  est 
Spiritus  sanctus,  qui  in  uno  verbo  sacrae  Scripturae 
intellexit  multo  plura  quam  per  expositores  sacrae  Scrip- 
turae exponantur,  vel  discernantur:  nee  est  etiam  in- 
conveniens  quod  homo,  qui  fuit  auctor  instrumentalis 
sacrae  Scripturae,  in  uno  verbo  plura  intelligeret."  St. 
Thomas,  Quodlibet  VII,  xiv,  5m.  This  passage,  by  the  way, 
may  be  cited  as  one  of  many  justifying  Dante  in  his  habit 
of  packing  several  meanings  into  a  single  word  or  phrase. 
Mary  is  said  to  have  dictated  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
Gospels  to  the  evangelists.  Cf.  Albert.  Mag.,  op.  cit.  IV, 
xxxi,  2. 


the  "three  blessed  ladies"        i8i 

the  Scriptures  to  Dante.  Also,  through 
"grace  freely  given"  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  chosen 
men  receive  the  gift  of  prophecy,  which 
includes  the  power  to  interpret  Scripture;182 
so  through  Beatrice  Dante  ultimately  receives 
the  gift  of  prophecy,  and  expresses  it  in  the 
Divine  Comedy  itself.  And  at  the  risk  of 
repetition,  which  is  wellnigh  unavoidable  in 
so  complex  a  subject-matter,  I  may  restate 
the  bases  of  that  prophesying. 

The  final  end  to  which  Beatrice  as  Charity 
would  lead  Dante  is  beatitude,  or  union  with 
God.183  "The  essence  of  beatitude  consists  in 
the  act  of  the  intellect."184  It  is  the  "ben 
delV intelletto  "  185  Intellect,  in  this  connection, 
is  an  intuitive  faculty,  in  contradistinction  to 
the  discursive  reason.186  It  is  the  "eye  of  the 
intellect"  by  which  we  see  God  face  to  face 

182  Cf.  St.  Thomas,  5.  T.  1 1 — II,  clxxi-clxxviii ;  also,  my 
essay — Ariadne  s  Crown. 

183  "Charitas  est  amor  Dei,  non  qualiscumque,  sed  quo 
diligitur  Deus  ut  beatitudinis  objectum,  ad  quod  ordi- 
namur  per  fidem,  et  spem."   St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  I — 1 1,  lxv, 

5,  im- 

184  lb.  iii,  4,  c. 

185  Inf.  iii,  1 8. 

186 ".  .  .  intellectus  et  ratio  differunt  quantum  ad 
modum  cognoscendi:  quia  scilicet  intellectus  cognoscit 
simplici  intuitu,  ratio  vero  discurrendo  de  uno  in  aliud." 
St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  I,  lix,  I,  im. 


1 82     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

(quo  Deus  inspicitur),  as  opposed  to  the  "eye 
of  reason,"  by  which  "created  intelligible 
things"  are  seen.187  For  any  eye  to  see,  it 
must  have  light.  And,  in  principle,  the  more 
light  there  is,  the  better  the  eye  can  see.  For 
owlish  eyes,  which,  inured  to  the  dark,  cannot 
stand  the  light  of  day,  the  remedy  is  light, 
and  more  light,  gradually  applied, — as  the 
eagle  is  said  to  train  the  eyes  of  its  young  to 
gaze  unflinchingly  at  the  sun.  Of  course,  for 
such  a  rigorously  homoeopathic  treatment  to 
be  successful,  the  patient  must  be  an  eaglet 
born;  an  owl,  presumably,  would  be  merely 
blinded  altogether.  Man  is  an  eaglet  born, 
and  potentially  capable  of  gazing  at  the  sun. 
If  he  cannot,  it  is  only  because  his  eyes  have 
become  habituated  to  the  shadow  of  two 
veils, — the  veil  of  sin,  and  the  veil  of  sense. 
Only  when  both  are  removed,  can  he  regain 
his  native  eagle-like  vision.  Yet,  on  the  other 
hand,  he  must  pay  the  price  of  having  played 
the  owl  so  long :  habituation  to  the  light  must 
be  as  gradual  as  habituation  to  the  dark  was 
complete  and  long. 

It  is  the  "three  blessed  ladies"  who  so  restore 
to  Dante  his  native  eagle-sight  by  removing 
from  his  eyes  the  veiling  double  cataract  of 

187  St.  Thomas,  De  veritate,  xix,  ob.  6  and  6m 


THE  "THREE  BLESSED  LADIES"  1 83 

sin  and  sense,188  and  with  loving  care  grad- 
ually exposing  them  to  more  and  more  light, 
until  at  last  he,  who  had  groped  blindly  in 
the  dark  forest,  can  endure  the  direct  and 
undiminished  effulgence  of  the  divine  Sun. 
Obvious  also  is  the  function  of  each  of  the 
three  ladies,  separately  considered,  as  factors 
in  the  curative  process.  The  medicament  is 
light.  Mary  is  the  source  of  the  healing 
light;189  Lucia,  the  healing  light  itself;  and 
Beatrice,  dispenser  of  the  healing  light. 

As  said,  light  is  given  according  to  the 
capacity  of  the  recipient.  This  capacity  is 
measured  by  charity.  Beatrice,  having  per- 
fect charity  of  heaven,  receives  the  light — or 
word — of  Mary,  transmitted  by  Lucia,  in 
its  fulness  and  directly.  Her  intellect  is 
therefore  altogether  intuitive,  or  angelic.190 
But  Virgil,  to  whom  Beatrice  in  turn  trans- 
mits the  light  she  has  received,  lacks  the 
"holy  virtues,"  and  so  receives  the  light  only 

188  Bernard  beseeches  the  Virgin: 

"Perche  tu  ogni  nube  gli  disleghi 
Di  sua  mortalita  coi  preghi  tuoi, 
Si  che  il  Sommo  Piacer  gli  si  dispieghi." 

{Par.  xxxiii,  31-33.) 

189  Cf.  Albert.  Mag.,  op.  cit.  VII,  iii  &  x. 
w  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  I,  lviii,  3. 


1 84     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

to  the  capacity  of  human  reason.191  So  Virgil 
in  his  turn,  transmitting  the  light  to  Dante, 
proceeds  by  discursive  argument,  or  reason- 
ing. So  far  as  the  light  of  reason  goes,  he  is 
indeed  wise  and  right : 

"Maestro,  i  tuoi  ragionamenti 
Mi  son  si  certi,  e  prendon  si  mia  fede, 
Che  gli  altri  mi  sarian  carboni  spenti."  192 

But  as  reason  is  dependent  upon  the  data  of 
sense,  it  has  no  certain  vision  of  things 
beyond  sense.   So  Virgil  himself  admits: 

"Quanto  ragion  qui  vede 
Dirti  poss'io;  da  indi  in  la  t'aspetta 
Pure  a  Beatrice,  ch'opera  e  di  fede."  193 

In  other  words,  in  Virgil  the  "divine  light," 
Lucia,  is  reduced  to  the  "natural  light  of  the 
intellect,  which  is  a  certain  participation  in 
that  eternal  light,  yet  from  afar  off,  and  in 
defective  degree ;"  whereas  the  light  of  faith 

191  "Animae  vero  humanae,  quae  veritatis  notitiam  per 
quemdam  discursum  acquirunt,  rationales  vocantur. 
Quod  quidem  contingit  ex  debilitate  intellectualis  luminis 
in  eis.  Si  enim  haberent  plenitudinem  intellectualis 
luminis,  sicut  angeli,  statim  in  primo  aspectu  principiorum 
total  virtutem  eorum  comprehenderent,  intuendo  quidquid 
ex  eis  syllogizari  posset."   lb. 

192  Inf.  xx,  100-102. 

193  purgt  xviii,  46-48.    Cf.  Purg.  xv,  76-78. 


THE  "THREE  BLESSED  LADIES"  1 85 

is  abundant,  and  almost  as  if  the  sun  were 
present,  and  it  extends  beyond  sense.194 
Relatively  weak  though  it  be,  however,  this 
natural  light  of  the  intellect,  the  discursive 
reason,  is  yet  sufficient  by  habitual  applica- 
tion to  acquire  the  moral  and  intellectual 
virtues  in  such  degree  as  to  render  man 
captain  of  his  own  soul,  and  to  make  him 
eligible  to  the  company  of  those  noble  and 
wise  pagans  who  inhabit  the  castle  of  light  in 
Limbo.195  Like  them,  Dante  by  reason  has 
acquired  control  over  the  lower  forces  of  his 
nature,  but  his  reason  cannot  perfect  itself. 
That  perfection  comes  only  through  the 
Christian  virtues.196 

194  "Lumen  divinum  dupliciter  nobis  in  via  communi- 
catur:  scilicet  uno  modo  modice,  et  quasi  sub  parvo  radio. 
Et  hoc  est  lumen  naturalis  intellectus,  quod  est  quaedam 
participatio  illius  lucis  aeternae,  multum  tamen  distans,  et 
ab  illo  deficiens.  Alio  modo  in  abundantia  quadam,  et 
quasi  in  quadam  solis  praesentia,  ubi  acies  mentis  nostrae 
reverberatur,  quia  supra  nos  est,  et  supra  sensum  hominis, 
quod  nobis  ostensum  est.  Et  hoc  est  lumen  fidei,  quae 
nullam  patitur  opinionem  infra  suos  terminos."  St. 
Thomas,  Opus,  lxxii,  prin°. 

195  Inf.  iv. 

196  ".  .  .  ratio  potest  dupliciter  considerari:  uno  modo 
secundum  se;  alio  modo  secundum  quod  regit  vires 
inferiores.  Inquantum  igitur  est  inferiorum  virium 
regitiva,  perficitur  per  prudentiam:  et  inde  est  quod  omnes 
aliae    virtutes    morales,     quibus    inferiores    perficiuntur, 


1 86     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

Yet  evidently  we  have  not  gauged  the 
whole  truth  of  Virgil's  power.  If,  as  com- 
monly assumed,  Virgil  represents  merely  the 
faculty  of  human  reason  without  the  greater 
light  of  faith,  how  could  he  rise  above  Limbo, 
not  to  say  guide  Dante  up  to  and  through  the 
Christian  purgatory?  Hell  indeed  he  knew, 
having  traversed  it  before;197  philosophic 
reasoning  can  probe  the  depths  of  sin;  but 
whence  does  it  get  the  essentially  Christian 
knowledge  which  the  pagan  Virgil  shows 
throughout  the  Purgatory?  Moreover,  Virgil 
is  for  Dante  not  even  the  supreme  exemplar 
of  the  discursive  human  reason.   Aristotle  is 

"II  maestro  di  color  che  sanno."  198 

Indeed,  the  very  philosophy  which  Virgil 
expounds    to    his    pupil    is,    as    he    himself 

formantur  per  prudentiam  sicut  per  proximam  formam. 
Sed  fides  perficit  rationem  in  se  consideratam,  prout  est 
speculativa  veri;  unde  ejus  non  est  formare  virtutem 
inferiorem,  sed  formari  a  caritate,  quae  alias  format,  etiam 
ipsam  prudentiam,  inquantum  ipsa  prudentia  propter 
finem,  qui  est  caritatis  objectum,  circa  ea  quae  sunt  ad 
finem,  ratiocinatur."  (St.  Thomas,  De  ver.  xiv,  5,  nm.) 
Seen  from  this  angle,  we  might  describe  Virgil's  function 
as  that  of  Prudence;  Lucia's  as  that  of  Faith;  Beatrice's 
as  that  of  Charity. 

197  Inf.  ix,  22-27. 

198  jnjt  jv>  13L 


THE  "THREE  BLESSED  LADIES"  1 87 

acknowledges,199  Aristotelian.  For  the  author 
of  the  Divine  Comedy  was  a  Thorn ist,  a 
Christian-Aristotelian.200  Admittedly,  Virgil 
was  his  actual  guide  as  an  allegorical  poet,  but 
Dante,  I  think,  would  have  held  it  disloyalty 
to  his  master  in  allegory  to  compliment  him 
at  the  cost  of  allegorical  consistency.  The  key 
to  the  dilemma  lies,  I  believe,  in  the  tribute 
which  Statius  pays  to  the  poet  of  the  Fourth 
Eclogue.  Considered  for  itself,  the  role 
assigned  to  Statius  is  puzzling,  not  to  say 
extraordinary.  He  alone  of  all  the  penitent 
spirits  met  by  Dante  triumphs  in  Dante's 
presence.  Why  should  this  conspicuous 
honor  be  paid  to  one  who  by  his  own  con- 
fession was  but  a  faint-hearted  Christian? 

"...   per  paura  chiuso  cristian  fu'mi, 
Lungamente  mostrando  paganesmo; 
E  questa  tepidezza  il  quarto  cerchio 
Cerchiar  mi  fe'piu  ch'al  quarto  centesmo."  201 

199  Inf.  xi,  79-81,  97-105- 

200  Inasmuch  as  Virgil  presents  the  Aristotelian  point  of 
view  as  leading  straight  up  to  Christian  theology,  and  so 
within  its  limits  justified  by  that,  the  whole  role  of  Virgil 
in  the  Comedy  is  in  effect  a  document  of  Thomistic  apolo- 
getics. (Cf.  The  "True  Meaning"  of  Dante's  Vita  Nuova, 
by  the  present  writer, — Romanic  Rev.  XI  (1920),  pp. 
133-136.) 

201  Purg.  xxii,  90-93. 


1 88     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

Above  all  vices,  Dante  detested  "tepidezza," 
as  his  scorn  of  the  neutrals  shows.202  When 
it  is  seen,  however,  that  in  attributing  to 
Virgil  a  certain  power  above  reason,  Statius 
so  defines  Virgil's  representative,  or  symbolic, 
power,  the  importance  of  his  role  becomes 
manifest.   He  declares  to  Virgil: 

"Tu  prima  m'inviasti 
Verso  Parnaso  a  ber  nelle  sue  grotte, 
E  poi,  appresso  Dio,  m'alluminasti. 

Facesti  come  quei  che  va  di  notte, 

Che  porta  il  lume  retro,  e  se  non  giova, 
Ma  dopo  se  fa  le  persone  dotte, 

Quando  dicesti:  'Secol  si  rinnova; 

Torna  giustizia,  e  primo  tempo  umano, 
E  progenie  discende  dal  ciel  nova.' 

Per  te  poeta  fui,  per  te  cristiano!"  203 

Now  it  may  be  noted,  first  of  all,  that  the 
double  obligation  expressed  in  the  first  tercet 
and  last  line  quoted,  is  exactly  parallel  to 
that,  explicitly  and  implicitly,  acknowledged 
to  Virgil  by  Dante  himself.  He  too  gives 
thanks  to  Virgil  as  his  master  in  poetry.204 
And  to  Virgil,  after  God,  he  attributes  the 
light  which  guided  his  way  from  the  dark 

202  Inf.  34-5L 

203  Purg.  xxii,  64-73. 

204  Inf.  i,  82-87. 


THE  "THREE  BLESSED  LADIES"  1 89 

forest  up  to  the  very  presence  of  his  redeemer 
Beatrice  in  the  central  chariot  of  the  Church.205 
For  Statius  Virgil  had  done  an  analogous 
service  of  himself,  and  yet  not  of  himself.  He 
had  prophesied  the  Christ  to  come,  and  yet 
was  unable  to  comprehend  and  to  profit  by 
his  own  prophecy.  But  the  prophecy  itself, 
so  momentous  and — as  Statius' s  example 
proves — so  salutary  for  others,  could  be  no 
mere  accident  or  coincidence,  but,  to  use 
Virgil's  own  words : 

"Vuolsi  cosi  cola  dove  si  puote 
Cio  che  si  vuole."  206 

The  author  of  the  Fourth  Eclogue  was  for  the 
time  being  God's  mouthpiece.  The  light  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  illuminated  him.207  But  the 
illumination  spent  itself,  so  to  speak,  in  the 
expression  of  the  prophecy;  his  own  under- 

205  Beatrice  is  the  "center"  in  virtue  of  being  perfect 
love  or  charity.  (Cf.  V.  N.  xii,  31-33.)  And  so  Mary  for 
the  same  reason:  "quia  caeteris  Sanctis  vicissim  lumen 
suum  praebentibus,  haec  (Maria)  sine  vicissitudine  semper 
aequali  radio,  quantum  in  se  est,  cunctis  viventibus 
claritatem  effundit,"  etc.  Albert.  Mag.,  op.  cit.  I,  iii,  3. 
Cf.  ib.  VIII,  i,  7. 

206  Inf.  iii,  94-95;  v,  23-24. 

207  "...  prophetia  simpliciter  dicta  non  potest  esse  a 
natura,  sed  solum  ex  revelatione  divina."  St.  Thomas, 
S.  T.  II — II,  clxxii,  1,  c. 


190     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

standing  was  left  dark.  It  is  a  well  recognized 
type  of  prophecy.208  Caiaphas  prophesying 
the  immensely  salutary  effect  of  Christ's 
death  offers  another  instance.209  In  other 
words,  the  gift  of  prophecy  is  from  the  Holy 
Spirit  by  "grace  freely  given;"  but  "grace 
freely  given"  (gratia  gratis  data)  does  not  at  all 
necessarily  carry  with  it  the  "grace  making 
acceptable"  (gratia  gratum  faciens)  which  is 
essential  to  salvation,  by  charity  uniting 
man's  soul  to  God.210 

If  this  reasoning  be  sound,  the  role  of 
Statius  takes  on  a  real  significance.  He  is 
symbolically  Dante's  alter  ego.  In  each, 
Virgil's  "grace  freely  given,"  sterile  for  Virgil 
himself,  is  transformed  into  fructifying  "grace 
making  acceptable."   In  each,  the  redeeming 

208  "...  donum  prophetiae  aliquando  datur  homini  et 
propter  utilitatem  aliorum,  et  propter  mentis  illustra- 
tionem:  et  hi  sunt,  in  quorum  animas  sapientia  divina  per 
gratiam  facientem  se  transferens,  amicos  Dei,  et  Prophetas 
eos  constituit:  quidam  vero  consequuntur  donum  pro- 
phetiae solum  ad  utilitatem  aliorum,  qui  sunt  quasi 
instrumenta  divinae  operationis."  lb.  4,  1  m. 

209  "...  quandoque  autem  ille,  cujus  mens  movetur  ad 
aliqua  verba  exprimenda,  non  intelligit  quid  Spiritus 
Sanctus  per  haec  verba  intendat:  sicut  patet  de  Caiapha, 
Joan,  xi."   lb.  4,  c. 

210  "...  gratia  autem  gratum  faciens  ad  hoc  princi- 
paliter  datur,  ut  anima  hominis  Deo  per  charitatem  con- 
jungatur."  lb. 


THE  "THREE  BLESSED  LADIES"  191 

transformation  is  due,  in  the  first  place,  to 
the  "grace  of  discourse"  vouchsafed  to  Virgil 
in  order  that  the  divine  message  might  move 
as  well  as  inform.211  So  not  only  do  Statius 
and  Dante,  in  like  fashion,  testify  to  the 
inspiring  eloquence  of  Virgil,  but  also  Beatrice 
herself,  as  she  tells  him,  put  her  trust  in 

"tuo  parlare  onesto 
Che  onora  te  e  quei  che  udito  l'hanno."  212 

Confirmation  of  prophecy  is  usually,  but  not 

always,  by  miracle.213   Statius  found  Virgil's 

prophecy    confirmed    by    a    world    already 

pregnant  with  the  true  faith  sown  by  apostles 

of   the  Word,   who   also   in   their   "upright 

conduct"  revealed  the  virtue  which  the  Word 

generates.214  This  conversion  of  the  world  to 

Christianity  by  humble  and  persecuted  folk 

is,  as  Dante  will  answer  St.  Peter,215  precisely 

because  it  was  done  without  the  adventitious 

aid   of  miracles,   the   supreme  miracle.    So 

Dante  in  the  Comedy  will  find  Virgil's  teaching 

confirmed  by  Beatrice,  perfect  in  charity,  who 

211  Cf.  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  clxxvii,  1,  c. 

212  Inf.  ii,  1 1 3- 1 1 4. 

213  St.  Thomas,  ib.  clxxviii. 

214  Purg.  xxii,  76-78. 

215  Par.  xxiv,  106-108. 


192     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

even  in  her  mortal  life  had  "without  miracle" 
performed  the  supreme  miracle  of  converting 
the  loveless  into  the  loving  heart.216 

This  parallelism  between  Statius  and  Dante 
extends  even  farther  into  their  spiritual 
experience.  As  Statius  was  punished  for  his 
timid  hiding  of  his  worship  of  the  true  God 
under  the  "screen"  of  Pagan  idolatry,217  so 
Dante  was  punished  for  timidly  hiding  his 
real  worship  of  Beatrice  under  the  "screen" 
of  the  "ladies  of  defence,"  the  "simulacra"  218 
Statius's  punishment  was  "more  than  four 
hundred  years"  of  deferred  union  with  God  in 
the  circle  of  sloth,  and  "more  than  five  hun- 
dred" more  in  the  circle  of  (for  him)  prodi- 
gality.219 Dante's  punishment  was  his  ten 
years  of  unappeased  thirst  for  Beatrice.220 
Incidentally,  the  two  terms  of  punishment 
have  a  proportional  relationship.  "More  than 
four  hundred"  plus  "more  than  five  hundred" 
make  approximately  ten  hundred,  or  one 
hundred  times  Dante's  penalty.    Moreover, 

216  V.  N.  xxi. 

217  Purg.  xxii,  90-92. 

218  V.  N.  x,  xii.  It  may  be  remarked  that  St.  Thomas 
uses  the  term  "simulacra"  for  false  idols.  Cf.  e.  g.,  /  Cor., 
lect.  i,  me°;  Isa.  x,  me°. 

2,9  Purg.  xxii,  92-93;  xxi,  67-68;  xxii,  34-54. 
2,0  Purg.  xxxii,  2. 


the  "three  blessed  ladies"        193 

the  second  count  of  Statius's  guilt,  prodi- 
gality, may  also,  in  a  spiritual  sense,  apply 
to  Dante.  For  he  who  worships  the  false  idols 
of  present  pleasure,221  exchanges  the  "gold"  of 
heavenly  treasure  for  the  dross  of  earthly,  and 
is  so  guilty  of  the  worst  prodigality.  And 
finally,  Dante's  term,  "thirst"  of  Beatrice, 
finally  appeased,  corresponds  to  the  Beatitude 
spoken  by  the  angel  releasing  souls  from  the 
circle  where  Statius  expiated  his  prodigality.222 

This  spiritual  parallelism  between  Statius 
and  Dante  has  no  further  significance,  so  far 
as  I  can  see,  than  to  supply  the  key  to  Virgil's 
r61e  in  the  poem.  He  accompanies  Dante  and 
Virgil  the  rest  of  the  purgatorial  way,  and 
later  with  Dante  receives  the  benefits  of 
Lethe  and  Eunoe;  after  which  we  hear  no 
more  of  him.  But  we  may  apply  the  key  he 
has  given  us. 

When  Beatrice  in  her  charity  condescended 
for  Dante's  sake  to  Virgil  in  Limbo,  she  gave 
implicit  promise  of  supernatural  aid  to 
Virgil, — an  aid  which  he  from  beginning  to 
end  acknowledges.  In  hell  his  references  are 
mysterious,223    but    in    the    clearer    light   of 

221  Purg.  xxxi,  34-36. 

222  Pur g.  xxii,  1-6. 

223  E.  g.  Inf.  viii,  105;  ix,  8;  xii,  88. 


194     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

purgatory  they  become  more  definite.  To 
Sordello  he  declares : 

"Virtu  del  ciel  mi  mosse,  e  con  lei  vegno."  224 

Supernatural  aid  is  grace,  but  it  is  given  to 
Virgil,  not  for  himself,  but  for  Dante.  It 
moved  him,  and  accompanies  him,  but  is  not 
in  him.225  In  other  words,  the  "grace  freely 
given"  to  the  actual  Virgil  for  the  benefit  of 
others  is  that  supernatural  aid,  thanks  to 
which  the  Virgil  of  the  Comedy  is  enabled  to 
guide  Dante  up  to  Beatrice,  representative  of 
the  Charity  of  the  Christ  whom  the  actual 
Virgil  had  unwittingly  prophesied.226  Only, 
since  this  grace  does  not  illuminate  Virgil's 
own  faculty  of  reason,  Dante  presents  it  as 
detached  and  hypostatized  in  the  person  of 
Lucia,  the  light  emanating  from  Mary.  And, 
though  unseen  by  Dante,  Lucia  accompanies 
him   and   Virgil   through   purgatory,    where 

224  Purg.  vii,  24. 

225  Beatrice's  promise  to  Virgil,  that 

"Quando  sar6  dinanzi  al  Signor  mio, 
Di  te  mi  lodero  sovente  a  lui," 
{Inf.    ii,   73-74)    may  indicate   a  hopeful    conviction   on 
Dante's   part   that   Virgil,    for   his   noble   character   and 
prophetic  service,  may  ultimately  have  been  made  accep- 
table to  God  by  imputed  merit. 

226  Beatrice  represents  the  charity  of  Christ  as  well  as  of 
Mary,  since  Mary's  own  charity  is  of  Christ. 


THE  "THREE  BLESSED  LADIES  195 

Virgil  is  not  at  home,  and  intervenes  when 
and    in    such    wise    as    his   merely    rational 
faculty  is  insufficient.    Thus,  though  Dante 
has  passed   secure  from  hell,   the  place  of 
mortal  sins,  yet  he  has  fallen  asleep  in  the 
valley  of  the  negligent.227    Virgil  of  his  own 
rational  faculty  is  incompetent  to  lead  him 
thence  to  and  through  the  gate  of  the  Chris- 
tian  purgatory,    of   which   the   principle   is 
penitence    acceptable    of    God.      Penitence 
would  give  satisfaction  to  God  for  past  sins, 
and  so  reconcile  the  sinner  to  God.228   It  is  a 
virtue,  therefore,  unknown  to  a  rationalism 
which  cannot  recognize  God.229    So  to  the 
sleeping  Dante  in  the  valley  of  the  negligent, 
whose  befitting  psalm  is  the  Te  lucis  ante™0 
Light,  Lux,  comes  in  the  person  of  the  lady 
Lucia.   She  it  is  whom  the  angel  at  the  gate 
demands  for  "escort"  to  the  penitent.   Mary's 
light   can   enter   in   through   the   narrowest 
gate.231  And  by  her  light  also,  the  least  sin  is 

227  Purg.  ix,  10-12. 

228  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  Ill,  lxxxv,  3. 

229  "Philosophi  nihil  tractaverunt  de  poenitentia,  quia 
consideraverunt  virtutes  secundum  quod  ordinant  ho- 
minem  ad  bonum  humanum,  non  autem  ut  ordinant 
homines  ad  Deum."  St.  Thomas,  IV  Sent,  xiv,  1,  1,  3,  4m- 

230  Purg.  viii,  13. 

231  "Maria  lux  .  .  .  quia  per  angustissimam  rimam 
vel  foramen  ingreditur,  gratiam  infundendo.    Unde  dicit 


I96     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

made  visible  to  the  sinner,  so  that  he  may 
purify  himself  of  it.232 

Meanwhile  the  sleeping  Dante's  imagina- 
tion converts  the  supernatural  elevation  of 
his  soul  into  a  dream.  A  golden  eagle  swoops 
down  upon  him,  "terribil  come  fulgor"  and 
carries  him  upward  into  consuming  fire.233 
The  dream  was  just  before  the  dawn,  when 
dreams  come  true.  And  indeed  this  symbolic 
dream  was  prophetic  of  many  true  happen- 
ings, and  is  a  capital  instance  of  Dante's 
packed  and  multiple  allegory.  The  eagle,  as 
he  presently  learns,  is  Lucia,  light  of  Mary's 
grace  bringing  penitent  self-knowledge  and 
the  will  to  enter  into  the  purgatorial  fire.234 
Again,  it  is  Lucia,  light  of  faith  leading  to 
charity,  Beatrice,  which  is  a  fire  so  intense 

cum  Filio  illud  Apocalypsis,  iii,  20:  Si  quis  mihi  aperuit 
januam,  intrabo  ad  ilium."  Albert.  Mag.,  op.  cit.  VII,  x,  1. 

232  "Maria  lux  .  .  .  quia  rimas  et  angustissima  fora- 
mina sua  illustratione  manifestat  existentibus  in  domo, 
id  est,  minima  peccata  suae  gratiae  infusione  facit  percep- 
tibilia  his  qui  convertuntur  ad  cor.  .  .  .  Roganda  est 
igitur  assidue  ut  cordibus  nostris  infundat  gratiam  divini 
timoris:  quia,  sicut  dicitur,  Eccli.  xxi,  7:  Qui  timet  Deum, 
convertetur  ad  cor  suum,  ut  per  illustrationem  gratiae  suae 
possimus  intelligere  nostrorum  cordium  foramina  et 
scissuras,  et  eadem  resarcire."   lb. 

233  Purg.  ix,  13-33. 

234  Purg .  xxvii,  7-12. 


THE  "THREE  BLESSED  LADIES"  1 97 

that,  reglowing  in  the  mind,  it  fuses  "stony" 
reason  235  into  intuitive  intelligence.  Beatrice, 
like  the  mother  eagle,  will  enure  her  eaglet's 
eyes  to  look  straight  into  the  sun.  So  the 
reenacted  rape  of  Ganymede  foreshadows  the 
"rapture"  of  Dante,  in  which  he  can  look 
straight  into  the  unimaginable  glory  of  the 
divine  Sun.  And  he  uses  the  same  word 
"fulgor"  for  the  Eagle's  glory  and  God's.236 
The  analogy  is  natural,  since  the  final  cause, 
the  "rapture,"  is  contained  in  the  efficient 
cause,  the  "rape." 237  Again,  Lucia  as  the 
Light  emanating  from  Mary,  corresponds, 
figuratively  speaking,  to  Christ,  Mary's  Son ; 
and  of  the  Christ  it  is  said  that  like  an  eagle 
he  swoops  down  upon  the  sinner  to  bear  him 
into  the  Empyrean,   the   heaven   of   fire.238 

235  Cf.  Purg.  xxxiii,  73-75. 

236 Purg.  ix,  29;  Par.  xxxiii,  141. 

237  Cf.  St.  Thomas,  I  Sent,  i,  1. 

238  "Christus  aquila  .  .  Dicit  etiam  Isidorus,  quod 
cum  aquila  super  maria  penna  feratur  immobili,  nee 
humanis  pateat  obtutibus,  de  tanta  sublimitate  pisciculos 
videt  natantes,  ac  tormenti  instar  descendens  pennis,  ad 
littus  attrahit  raptam  praedam.  Similiter  Christus  in 
solio  paternae  majestatis  existens  invisibilis,  de  coelo 
respexit  filios  hominum  oculo  pietatis  errantes  in  mari,  id 
est,  in  mundo,  et  descendit  quasi  ex  improviso  in  sua 
incamatione,  ut  ipsos  praedatos  a  diabolo  praedaretur,  et 
eos  perduceret  ad  littus  vitae  aeternae."  Albert.  Mag., 
op.  cit.  XII,  vii,  ii,  2. 


I98     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

Again,  the  Light  which  is  Christ  is  reflected 
in  the  Word,  in  Scripture,  illuminated  by 
which  we  are  saved.239  And  more  especially 
is  it  reflected  in  the  word  of  John,  Christ's 
"Eagle,"  240  so  called  because  he  saw  deepest 
into  the  divine  glory.241 

Only  this  once  does  Lucia,  in  her  own 
person,  intervene  in  the  action  of  the  poem.242 
But  as  Virgil  told  Sordello : 

"Virtu  del  ciel  mi  mosse,  e  con  lei  vegno." 

How  then  is  this  guiding  influence  mani- 
fested? Remembering  the  symbolism  of 
Mary  as  the  Sun,  and  of  Lucia  as  her  light- 
ray,  the  answer,  in  the  light  of  Dante's 
indications,  seems  clear.  At  the  very  outset, 
Dante  had  seen  beyond  the  dim  vale  of  fear  a 
hill  whose  shoulders  were 

239  Par.  v,  76-78. 

240  Par.  xxvi,  53.    Cf.  ib.  43-45. 

241  "Aquila  beatus  Joannes  Evangelista  .  .  .  quia 
solem  intuetur  in  rota:  et  iste  specialius  deitatis  contem- 
platus  est  arcana.  Unde  dixit:  In  principio  erat  Verbum. 
Alii  quasi  infirmis  oculis  solem,  id  est,  Christum  videbant 
in  nube,  id  est,  velatum  carne."  Albert.  Mag.,  op.  cit. 
XII,  vii,  ii,  5. 

242  She  may  well,  as  the  counselling  companion  of 
Virgil,  be  intended  in  the  "donna  santa  e  presta"  of  Purg. 
xix,  26;  but  in  any  case  her  appearance  is  only  in  Dante's 
dream. 


THE  "THREE  BLESSED  LADIES"  1 99 

"Vestito  gia  de'raggi  del  pianeta 
Che  mena  dritto  altrui  per  ogni  calle."  243 

The  first  sight  to  "bring  back  delight"  to  his 
eyes,  after  his  emergence  from  the  murk  of 
hell,  is 

"Lo  bel  pianeta  che  ad  amar  conforta."  244 

The  sole  direction  given  by  Cato  for  guidance 
of  the  pilgrims  is  to  follow  the  sun.245  So 
Virgil,  fixing  his  gaze  upon  the  sun,  appeals 
for  its  guidance.246  And  at  last  he  commits  his 
alumnus  to  its  guidance  alone.247  Effectively 
then,  the  promised  guidance  of  Lucia  is 
fulfilled  by  "the  rays  of  the  planet  that  leadeth 
each  one  straight  by  every  way."  Only  by 
following  such  leading  can  one  rise  towards 
God,  the  divine  Sun.  Hence  the  law  of  the 
Mount,  that  no  one  may  ascend  by  night.248 

Virgil's  task  finished,  Lucia  shines  in  the 
sevenfold  candelabrum  of  the  Christian 
Church,  lighting  the  soul  in  the  way  of 
duty,  obedience   to    Law.249    Then   appears 

243  Inf.  i,  17-18. 

244  Purg.  i,  19. 

245  Purg.  107-108. 

246  Purg.  xiii,  13-21. 

247  Purg.  xxvii,  133. 

248  Purg.  vii,  52-57. 

249  pMrg.  xxx>  j-6. 


200     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

Beatrice  as,  says  Dante,  "I  have  seen  at  dawn 

" .    .    .la  faccia  del  sol  nascere  ombrata, 
Si  che  per  temperanza  di  vapori 
L'occhio  la  sostenea  lunga  fiata."  250 

Under  the  guidance  now  of  Charity,  the  edu- 
cation of  his  intuitive  vision  begins.  She  is  as 
the  sun,  yet  veiled  for  his  as  yet  weak  eyes. 
As  he  and  she  rise  into  paradise,  she  is  the 
eagle,  he  the  eaglet.  Her  eyes  are  fixed  upon 
the  divine  Sun,  his  upon  its  image  in  hers; 
and  by  that  gaze  he  is  "transhumanized."  251 
And  what  power  accomplished  the  miracle  is 
told  in  the  immediately  following  tercet : 

"S'io  era  sol  di  me  quel  che  creasti 

Novellamente,  Amor  che  il  ciel  governi, 
Tu  il  sai,  che  col  tuo  lume  mi  levasti." 

Beatrice's  eyes  reflect  the  "love  which  gov- 
erns heaven,"  and  this  reflected  light  it  is 
that  "transhumanizes"  Dante.  What  passes 
from  her  eyes  to  his  is  the  power  of  seeing 
which  Love  gives.  And  once  more  Dante 
explains  the  process.252    Beatrice  has  again 


260  PUrgM  XXX,  25-27. 

251  Par.  i,  46-72. 


252  I  may  plead  his  example  for  the  repetitive  character 
of  this  paper.  Yet  in  spite  of  all  Dante's  repetitions,  he  is 
still  misunderstood! 


THE  "THREE  BLESSED  LADIES"  201 

turned  upon  him  her  eyes  "pieni  di  faville 
d'amor"  But  his,  too  weak  to  withstand  the 
glory,  are  downcast.  She  explains: 

"S'io  ti  fiammeggio  nel  caldo  d'amore 
Di  la  dal  modo  che  in  terra  si  vede, 
Si  che  degli  occhi  tuoi  vinco  il  valore, 

Non  ti  maravigliar;  che  cio  procede 
Da  perfetto  veder,  che,  come  apprende, 
Cosi  nel  bene  appreso  move  il  piede. 

Io  veggio  ben  si  come  gia  risplende 
Nello  intelletto  tuo  l'eterna  luce 
Che,  vista  sola,  sempre  amore  accende."  253 

Again  it  must  be  said  that  although  vision, 
whether  of  faith  or  revelation,  precedes 
charity  "in  the  order  of  generation,"  yet  "in 
the  order  of  perfection  charity  precedes  faith 
and  hope,  inasmuch  as  faith  as  well  as  hope  is 
formed  by  charity,  and  acquires  the  perfection 
of  virtue;  so  charity  is  the  mother  of  all 
virtues,  and  the  root,  inasmuch  as  it  is  the 
form  of  all  virtues."  254  Only  gradually  can 
Dante's  eyes  accommodate  themselves  to  the 
glory  reflected  from  Beatrice's.255  And  the 
stages   of   improvement   are   carefully   indi- 

253  par    y>    j_g 

254  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  I— II,  lxii,  4,  c.    Obviously,  this  is 
the  meaning  of  Purg.  xxix,  127-129. 

256  Cf.  St.  Thomas,  5.  T.  II-II,  xxiv,  3. 


202     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

cated.256  Finally,  he  is  enabled  also  to  endure 
her  smile,  that  appeared 

"come  sole  in  viso  che  piu  trema."  257 

With  that  her  task  ends.  His  eyes  have  drunk 
up  the  fullest  glory  of  the  Sun  that  she  can 
reflect  upon  him.  She  graduates  him  from 
her  school,  as  Virgil  before  had  from  his.  So 
disciplined  and  strengthened,  he  can  now  turn 
undaunted  from  the  reflection  to  the  thing 
itself  which  is  reflected.  After  Beatrice  has 
assured  him  that  he  can  now  withstand  the 
double  glory  of  her  eyes  and  smile,  and  he  has 
proved  it,258  she  urges  him  to  dare  the 
intenser  glory  of  the  fair  garden  flowering 
under  the  rays  of  Christ.259  Later,  without 
awaiting  invitation,  as  if  conscious  of  his 
independent  strength,  he  turns  from  the 
dazzling  point  of  light  mirrored  in  his  lady's 
eyes,  to  look  directly  at  the  reality.  The 
point  itself,  from  which 

"Depende  il  cielo  e  tutta  la  natura,"  26° 
is  indeed  the  divine  Sun,   but  still,   as  its 

256  Cf.  especially  Par.  xxi,  1-12;  xxiii,  46-60. 

257  Par.  xxx,  13-33. 

258  par  xxiii,  46-60. 

259  lb.  70-75. 

260  I.  42. 


THE  "THREE  BLESSED  LADIES"  203 

punctual  size  proves,  afar  off  in  its  empyrean. 
His  eyes  endure  its  direct  ray,  yet  still  with 
difficulty.261  Once  again,  risen  into  the 
Empyrean,  her  countenance  mirrors  for  him 
the  divine  Sun's  glory  in  its  own  place.262  The 
point  of  light  has  expanded,  and  is  seen  to  be 
triune.   It  is  "pure  light,"  yet 

"Luce  intellettiial  piena  d'amore, 
Amor  di  vero  ben  pien  di  letizia, 
Letizia  che  trascende  ogni  dolzore."  26S 

The  "intellectual  light  full  of  love"  is  in  her 
eyes;  the  "love  of  true  good"  is  in  her  smile; 
the  "joy  which  transcends  every  grief"  is  in 
both.  And  Dante,  who  can  sustain  the  triple 
glory,  possesses  therefore  the  angelic  faculty, 
the  intelletto  d'amore,  intuitive  spiritual 
insight;  and  to  possess  the  bliss  of  this 
insight,  he  has  but  to  be  presented  to  the 
supreme  object  of  its  operation,  God. 

Beatrice  by  her  power  of  love  has  so 
actualized  in  Dante  his  own  potential  intui- 
tive faculty.  It  exists  with  him  separately  and 
independently,  and  may  be  conceived  as  a 
distinct  entity.    Bernard  is  the  hypostasis  of 

261  lb.  16-18. 

262  Par.  xxx,  10-33. 

263  Par.  xxx,  40-42. 


204     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

this  figurative  entity,  this  "higher  reason,"  in 
Dante,  the  operation  of  which  is  by  contem- 
plation withdrawn  into  itself.264  Beatrice  and 
Bernard,  then,  both  represent  the  Intelletto 
oV  Amove;  but  Beatrice  as  it  is  in  the  angels, 
Bernard  as  it  is  in  man  "by  participation."  265 
Bernard,  then,  represents  the  required 
mode  of  seeing  God  face  to  face,  of  knowing 
his  essence;  and  so  Bernard  at  once  explains 
his  presence: 

"A  terminar  lo  tuo  disiro 
Mosse  Beatrice  me  del  loco  mio."  266 

And  he  adds  more  fully : 

"Acrid  che  tu  assommi 
Perfettamente,"  disse,  "il  tuo  cammino, 
A  che  prego  ed  amor  santo  mandommi, 
Vola  con  gli  occhi  per  questo  giardino; 
Che  veder  lui  t'acconcera  lo  sguardo 
Piu  al  montar  per  lo  raggio  divino."  267 

264  Par.  xxxiii,  46-48. 

265 ".  .  .  quamvis  cognitio  humanae  animae  proprie 
sit  per  viam  rationis,  est  tamen  in  ea  aliqua  participatio 
illius  simplicis  cognitionis  quae  in  substantiis  superioribus 
invenitur,  ex  quo  vim  intellectivam  habere  dicuntur." 
St.  Thomas,  De  ver.  XV,  i,  c,  me°.  Cf.  the  analogous 
distinction  between  Beatrice  as  Charity  in  patria,  and  the 
personification  of  Charity  in  via.   Cf.  above,  p.  163. 

266  Par.  xxxi,  65-66. 

267  lb.  94-99. 


THE  "THREE  BLESSED  LADIES"     205 

His  phrase  "acconcerd  lo  sguardo"  expresses 
exactly  that  gradual  "accommodation"  of 
sight  to  ever  intenser  light  which  all  along  has 
been  the  symbolic  principle  of  Dante's 
education.  Lucia  is  the  hypostatized  light; 
Beatrice  the  hypostatized  love  by  which 
Dante's  sight  is  accommodated. 

But  Lucia  and  Beatrice  both  draw  their 
efficiency  from  Mary,  are  but  the  light  and 
heat  of  her  glory.  And  Mary,  though  a  "sun," 
an  original  source  of  light,  to  mankind,  is,  in 
relation  to  God,  the  one  true  Sun,  as  a  moon, 
shining  by  reflected  light  also.  But  of  all 
created  things,  the  moon  is  likest  the  sun,  and 
the  brightest  after  it.268  Also,  of  the  planets  it 
is  nearest  to  the  sun;  and  there  is  nothing 
intermediate  between  it  and  the  sun.269  Also, 
eyes  that  cannot  look  upon  the  sun,  can  look 
upon  the  moon.270  And  in  saying  this,  Albert 
adduces  the  authority  of  St.  Bernard  lauding 

268  "Maria  luna  .  .  .  quia  nihil  tarn  simile  soli  quam 
luna,  non  tamen  omnino  similis.  Nullum  enim  luminare 
tantum  habet  luminositatis,  quantum  sol,  cujus  lumino- 
sitatem  luna  vicinius  aemulatur."  Albert.  Mag.,  op.  cit. 
VII,  iv,  2. 

269  lb. 

270  "In  luna,  id  est,  Maria  splendor  misericordiae  sine 
fervore  severitatis:  quia  non  offendit  innrmos  oculos  se 
respicientis,  sicut  fervor  solis."  lb. 


206     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

the  Virgin's  charity,  from  the  "heat"  of  which 
nothing  can  hide  itself.271 

From  this  passage  of  Albert's  Dante  might 
have  drawn  his  authority  and  his  instrument 
for  the  final  "accommodation."  272  If  Mary 
vouchsafe  to  Dante's  eyes  the  power  to  see 
her  face  to  face,  no  further  increment  of  power 
is  possible  or  needed:  the  alumnus  may  be 
ushered  into  the  very  presence  of  God.  So 
it  is  done.  The  Virgin  is  gracious  to  Dante 
because,  burning  with  love  of  her  through 
Beatrice,  he  has  become  spiritually  one  with 
her  "fedel  Bernardo."  273  He  is  able  to  keep 
his  gaze  "fixed  and  attent"  on  that  "hot  heat" 
of  her  glory.274 

That  which  makes  man's  reason  discursive 
is  his  corporeal  nature.  His  intellect,  in  its 
own  nature  intuitive,  must  grope  from  datum 
to  datum  of  sense.  Before  therefore  he  can 
attain  the  perception  of  disembodied  intel- 

271  "Denique  omnibus  omnia  facta  est  .  .  .  ut  non  sit 
qui  se  abscondat  a  calore  ejus."    lb.,  referring  to  lb.  IV, 

XXXV. 

272  Albert's  words  are  not  cited  as  a  necessary  literary 
source.  They  merely  summarize  a  current  symbolism. 
St.  Bernard  also  was  by  common  consent  regarded  as  the 
high  apostle  of  Alary. 

273  Par.  xxxi,  100-102. 

274  lb.  133-142. 


THE  "THREE  BLESSED  LADIES"  207 

lects,  he  must  cast  off  the  body.  Before  he 
can  see  as  the  immortals,  he  must  put  off 
mortality.  Naturally,  this  detachment  is  by 
what  we  call  death.  But  by  special  grace, 
mortal  man  may  be  granted  the  separation  of 
soul  from  body  momentarily,  and  yet  have 
them  reunited  again  for  his  appointed  time 
on  earth.  In  the  interim  his  soul  may  see 
God.  This  is  "rapture,"  and  it  is  for  this  that 
Bernard  prays  the  Virgin  in  Dante's  behalf, — 
this,  and  for  safeguarding  the  perfect  charity 
that  must  follow  the  beatific  vision.275  For  in 
this  life,  charity,  even  perfectly  possessed, 
may  be  lost.276 

Mary  hears  Bernard's  prayer,  and  grants 
Dante  a  power  of  vision  connatural  with 
hers.277  With  the  "valore"  of  the  Mother,  he 
can  meet  the  "valore  infinite"  of  the  Father  as 
closely  as  any  finite  power  can ;  and  he  stresses 
the  unspeakable  boon  by  a  curious  paradox. 
Whereas  always  before,  his  weak  eyes  had 
sought  relief  from  excess  of  light  by  turning 
away,  or  closing,  now  it  seems  to  him  that 
they  would  be  blinded  if  turned  away.278 

275  par#  xxxiii,  28-36. 

276  Cf.  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  II— II,  xxiv,  II. 

277  Par.  xxxiii,  49-57. 

278  lb.  76-91. 


208     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

It  is  obvious  that  the  Dante  of  the  Comedy 
is  no  mere  representative  man,  no  mere 
representative  Christian,  as  is  sometimes 
said.279  Indeed,  he  has  but  one  certain  peer 
among  all  men, — the  apostle  Paul,  even  the 
one  with  whom  he  had  at  first  modestly 
disclaimed  likeness.  A  second  St.  Paul,  he 
comes  down  from  the  third  heaven  to  declare 
unto  men  so  much  of  what  he  has  seen  there 
as  mortal  faculty  can  retain  and  communi- 
cate.280 Lucia,  the  Light  of  Mary,  does  not 
merely  accompany  him,  as  she  did  Virgil;  she 
has  entered  into  him.  Beatrice,  the  Love  of 
Mary,  inflames  his  will,  not  only  towards 
beatitude,  but  also  to  loving-service  of 
his  fellow-men.281  So  is  fulfilled  through 
Beatrice's  true  salute — or  salvation  at  last 
conferred,  the  promise  of  her  salute — or 
salutation,  so  long  withheld.282  Moreover, 
Lucia  and  Beatrice  were  but  instruments, 
light  and  love  but  manifestations,  of  a 
central  Power,  a  radiant  Sun,  in  Dante's 
soul,  which  is  the  effluence  of  the  Virgin 

279  Cf.,  e.  g.,  Paget  Toynbee,  Concise  Dante  Dictionary, 
s.  n.  Dante. 

2i0Par.  ;,  4-12. 

281  Cf.  St.  Thomas,  5.  T.  II— II,  xxv,  n. 

282  Cf.  V.  N.  xi. 


THE  "THREE  BLESSED  LADIES"  200, 

Mother,  Queen  of  heaven  and  Empress  of  the 
universe.  In  the  last  analysis,  the  accepted 
spiritual  suitor  of  Beatrice  is  the  accepted 
servant  of  Mary.  Who  worships  the  ray  of 
the  sun,  worships  the  sun.  Without  impeach- 
ment of  his  faith  to  Beatrice,  therefore,  he 
composes  his  poem  in  the  very  spirit  of 
Bonaventure's  psalm : 

"Dilexi  Matrem  Dei  Domini  mei :  et  lux  mis- 
erationum  ejus  infulsit  mihi. 

Circumdederunt  me  dolores  mortis :  et  visitatio 
Mariae  laetificavit  me. 

Dolorem  et  periculum  incurri:  et  recreatus 
sum  gratia  illius. 

Nomen  ejus  et  memoriale  illius  sit  in  medio 
cordis  nostri:  et  non  nocebit  nobis  ictus  malig- 
nantis. 

Convertere,  anima  mea,  in  laudem  ipsius:  et 
invenies  refrigerium  in  novissimis  tuis."  283 

283  P salt.  maj.  b.  Mar.  Virg.,  Ps.  114. 


THE  COMEDY  OF  DANTE1 

The  title  of  the  book,  wrote  Dante  to 
Can  Grande,  is:  Incipit  Comoedia  Dantis 
Aligherii,  Florentini  natione,  non  moribus. 
The  Latin  Comoedia  Dantis  means  "the 
Comedy  of  Dante"  as  well  as  "the  Comedy  by 
Dante."  I  believe  that  Dante  was  quite  aware 
of  this  ambiguity,  and  intends  both  of  its 
alternative  meanings  at  once.2  The  poem  was 
his  Comedy  in  that  he  wrote  it.  The  poem  was 
his  "comedy"  in  that  it  relates  how  from  a 
state  at  the  beginning  "horrible  and  foul,"  he, 
the  protagonist,  came  to  a  state  at  the  end 
"prosperous,  desirable,  and  gracious."  And 
such  is  the  order  of  any  "comedy."  3  His 
purpose  in  telling  his  story  is  to  lead  others 
living  in  this  life  along  the  same  road  from  a 
state  of  misery  to  a  state  of  felicity.4 

1  Reprinted  from  Studies  in  Philology,  Oct.,  192 1. 

2  The  epithet  "Divine"  was  given  first  in  the  edition  of 
1555,  and  its  retention  is,  I  think,  a  literary  impertinence. 
Even  if  the  contention  in  the  present  text  is  unwarranted, 
there  can  at  least  be  no  question  that  when  a  writer  who 
so  weighed  and  packed  every  item  of  his  work  gave  a 
title,  he  meant  it  and  meant  something  by  it. 

3  lb. 

4  lb.,  par.  xv. 

210 


THE  COMEDY  OF  DANTE  211 

Again,  to  take  Dante  at  his  own  word,  we 
should  consider  as  part  of  his  title  the  bitter 
qualifying  phrase — Florentini  natione,  non 
moribus.  The  surface  meaning  is  obvious 
enough ;  but  if  the  poem  itself  has  a  multiple 
meaning,5  might  we  not  expect  the  title  also 
to  bear  a  deeper  sense  than  meets  the  eye? 

When  Dante  declares  himself  "Florentine 
in  stock,  not  morals,"  he  speaks  after  the 
redeeming  experiences  related  in  his  poem. 
He  has  risen  not  only  above  his  original  state, 
but  also  above  the  state  of  his  origin.  His 
original  state  was  the  state  of  sin ;  the  state  of 
his  origin,  the  city  of  Florence,  was  a  city  of 
sin.  This  analogy  may  appear  exaggeratedly 
fanciful,  as  well  as  unjust,  but  it  is  brought 
out  continually  in  the  poem  itself.  Florence, 
we  are  told,  is 

"la  citta,  che  di  colui  e  pianta 
Che  pria  volse  le  spalle  al  suo  Fattore."  6 

So  planted  by  Satan,  it  has  sprouted  in  envy, 
and  flowered  in  greed : 

"E  da  cui  e  la  invidia  tanto  pianta, — 
Produce  e  spande  il  maledetto  fiore 

5  lb.,  par.  vii. 

8  Par.  ix,  127-128. 


212     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

Ch'ha  disviate  le  pecore  e  gli  agni, 
Pero  che  fatto  ha  lupo  del  pastore."  7 

It  is  "the  nest  of  malice."  8  It  is  blown  up  with 
pride.9  Bestiality  is  the  mark  of  those 
Florentines  who  accompanied  Dante  into 
exile.10  Now  so  is  the  City  of  Dis,  of  Satan,11 
the  abiding-place  of  "malice  and  mad  bes- 
tiality," 12  the  prison-house  of  those  whose 
guilt  was  due,  not  to  the  less  culpable  incon- 
tinence of  desire  or  temper,  but  to  envy  and 
malice.  It  would  seem,  therefore,  that  Dante 
represents  his  exile  from  Florence  as  a 
providential  escape,  quite  comparable  to  his 
rescue  from  the  three  wild  beasts  of  the  dark 
forest.  He  even  refers  to  Florence  as  a  "sad 
forest"  full  of  wolves.13  But  the  exact  return 
to  the  taunt  of  his  title  is  his  self-gratulation 
in  heaven  itself: 

"Io,  che  al  divino  daH'umano, 

All'eterno  dal  tempo  era  venuto, 

7  lb.  129-132.  Fiore  is  literally  the  florin,  allegorically 
the  greed  of  which  the  florin  is  cause  and  emblem.  For 
envy  as  a  Florentine  characteristic,  cf.  Inf.  vi,  49;  xv,  68, 

8  Inf.  xv,  78. 

9  Inf.  xvi,  75. 

10  Par.  xvii,  62. 

11  Inf.  xi,  65. 

12  Inf.  xi,  82-83. 
uPurg.  xiv,  49-51,  64. 


THE  COMEDY  OF  DANTE  213 

E  di  Fiorenza  in  popol  giusto  e  sano, 
Di  che  stupor  dovea  esser  compiuto !"  14 

Against  this  implication  that  the  evil  and 
arrogant  men  who  banned  him  from  his 
birthplace  were  after  all  unwitting  instru- 
ments of  Providence  working  for  his  salvation, 
may  be  alleged  his  desire  and  hope  of  return. 

"Se  mai  continga  che  il  poema  sacro, — 
Al  quale  ha  posto  mano  e  cielo  e  terra, 
Si  che  m'ha  fatto  per  piu  anni  macro, — 

Vinca  la  crudelta  che  fuor  mi  serra 
Del  bello  ovile  ov'io  dormii  agnello 
Nimico  ai  lupi  che  gli  danno  guerra, 

Con  altra  voce  amai,  con  altro  vello 
Ritornero  poeta,  ed  in  sul  fonte 
Del  mio  battesmo  prendero  il  cappello; 

Per 6  che  nella  Fede,  che  fa  conte 
L'anime  a  Dio,  quivi  entra'io,  e  poi 
Pietro  per  lei  si  mi  giro  la  fronte."  15 

Superficially,  indeed,  the  passage  would  mean 
simply  that,  won  over  by  the  splendor  of  his 
literary  accomplishment,  his  fellow-citizens 
might  one  day  readmit  him  to  citizenship, 
and  even  crown  him  as  poet  at  the  baptismal 
font  at  which,  a  child,  he  had  been  admitted 

14  Par.  xxxi,  37-40. 

15  Par.  xxv,  1-12. 


214     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

into  the  membership  of  the  Church.  But 
there  are  manifest  hints  of  a  deeper  meaning. 
In  that  old  time  he  had  slumbered  a  lamb 
among  wolves,  their  "enemy"  indeed,  but 
also  their  helpless  victim.  They  had  success- 
fully "fleeced"  and  banned  him.  But  one  day 
his  holy  poem,  mighty  with  the  might  of 
heaven  as  well  as  of  earth,  may  "conquer" — 
not  merely  soften  or  appease,  but  conquer — 
their  cruelty.  Then  will  he  return  "with 
another  voice,  another  fleece,"  and  at  the  font 
.    joi  his  baptism  put  on  the  chaplet.     To  under- 

\~~~stand  what  is  implied  in  the  word  "conquer," 
we  should  recall  what  Dante  declared  to  be 
the    purpose    of    the    Comedy,    namely,    "to 

.^remove  those  living  in  this  life  from  a  state  of 
misery,  and  to  bring  them  to  a  state  of 
felicity."  16  In  other  words,  its  purpose  was 
to  convert  men  to  Christ,  the  Lamb  of  God.17 
And  he,  Dante,  has  by  the  Vicar  of  Christ, 
St.  Peter,  been  given  the  sign  of  the  aureole 
of  the  Lamb's  apostle  and  prophet  to  men : 

"Pietro  per  lei  (la  Fede)  si  mi  cird  la  fronte."  18 
Poet  as  he  is,  therefore,  he  speaks,  and  will 

16  Ep.  x,  268-270 — ed.  Moore,  in  Opere. 

17  Cf.  Par.  xxiv,  2. 

18  Cf.  Par.  xxiv,  148-154. 


THE  COMEDY  OF  DANTE  215 

speak,  "with  another  voice,"  the  voice  of  a 
prophet.  Also,  he  will  be  clothed  "with 
another  fleece," — that  of  the  Lamb  himself, 
which  figuratively  signifies,  among  other 
things,  the  humility  which  shall  be  exalted.19 
The  "chaplet,"  accordingly,  which  he  shall  put 
on  at  the  baptismal  font,  while  to  the  general 
it  may  signify  the  glory  of  a  poet,  rightly 
understood  will  be  sign  and  symbol  of  the 
aureole  awaiting  him  as  prophet  and  doctor 
of  the  Faith,  and  already  conferred  in  the 
mystic  vision  symbolically  by  St.  Peter.20 
But  he  will  return  to  Florence,  speaking  with 
the  voice  of  the  Lamb,  only  as  Christ  himself 
descended  into  hell  as 

"Un  possente 
Con  segno  di  vittoria  coronato ;"  21 

or  as  he  and  Virgil,  accompanied  wTith  that 
other  "agnello,"  22  forced  their  way  into  the 

19  Cf.  Albertus  Magnus,  De  laudibus  b.  Mariae  Virg., 
XII,  v,  viii,  7. 

20  Cf.  St.  Thomas,  IV  Sent,  xxxiii,  3,  3,  3:  "Aureola 
debetur  doctoribus,  et  praedicatoribus,  tantum  docentibus 
ex  officio  vel  commissione."  Dante  represents  himself 
commissioned  both  by  Beatrice  (Purg.  xxxiii,  52-54)  and 
by  St.  Peter  (Par.  xxvii,  64-66). 

21  Inf.  iv,  53-54- 

22  Dante  uses  agnello  for  both  "angel"  and  "lamb."  Cf. 
Purg.  xvi,  16;  Par.  xxiv,  2. 


2l6     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

city  of  Dis,  whose  "lamentable  houses"  had 
been  before  denied  them.23  And  then,  as 
Christ  from  hell  drew  Adam  and  Abel  and 
Noah, 

"Ed  altri  molti ;  e  fecegli  beati ;"  24 

so  Dante  would  "bring  to  a  state  of  felicity" 
those  Florentines  willing  to  heed  the  proph- 
esyings  of  his  Comedy.  As  for  the  rest, — 
vae  victis!  For  in  rejecting  him,  they  reject 
Christ's  apostle. 

This  is  a  bold  saying,  but  Dante  says  no 
less.  At  the  same  time,  he  realized  that  one  so 
declaring  prophetic  mission,  must  present  his 
credentials,  must  in  some  sort  prove  his 
inspiration.  St.  Paul  had  written:  "Who- 
soever shall  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord 
shall  be  saved.  How  then  shall  they  call  on 
him,  in  whom  they  have  not  believed?  And 
how  shall  they  believe  in  him  of  whom  they 

23  Inf.  viii-ix.  It  may  be  noted  in  passing  that  the  angel, 
like  Dante,  is  "disdainful;"  {Inf.  ix,  88.  Cf.  Inf.  viii,  44) 
and  that  the  "insolence"  (tracotanza)  of  the  evil  ones  in 
opposing  the  entry  of  Dante  and  Virgil  into  the  infernal 
city  had  before  been  shown  in  opposing  the  entry  of  Christ 
into  hell  {Inf.  viii,  124-126)  and  is  paralleled  by  the 
insolence  of  the  Florentines  in  barring  Dante  from  their 
city. 

24  Inf.  iv,  55-61. 


THE  COMEDY  OF  DANTE  217 

have  not  heard?  And  how  shall  they  hear 
without  a  preacher?  And  how  shall  they 
preach,  except  they  be  sent?"  25  Also,  it  is 
written:  "A  true  witness  delivereth  souls;  but 
a  deceitful  witness  speaketh  lies."  26  A  man, 
however,  may  deceive  himself  as  well  as 
others.  How  might  Dante  himself  know  that 
he  was  a  preacher  sent,  that  he  was  in  St. 
John's  phrase,  "a  true  and  faithful  witness?"  27 
And,  even  knowing  it,  persuade  others  to 
listen  to  him? 

Although  the  whole  Comedy  is  an  answer 
to  this  question,  within  the  Comedy  there  is 
yet  one  declarative  passage  specially  cal- 
culated to  win  the  favorable  attention  of  his 
readers.  This  passage  is  the  "exordium,"  as 
he  calls  it,  of  the  Paradise,  which  runs  as 
follows : 

"La  gloria  di  colui  che  tutto  move 
Per  l'universo  penetra,  e  risplende 
In  una  parte  piu,  e  meno  al trove. 
Nel  ciel  che  piu  della  sua  luce  prende 

25  Rom.  x,  13-15. 

26  Prov.  xiv,  25.  Vulg.:  "Liberat  animas  testis  fidelis: 
et  profert  mendacia  versipellis."  Geryon,  symbol  of  Fraud 
or  Mendacity,  who  "tanto  benigna  avea  di  fuor  la  pelle," 
would  seem  to  be  a  reminiscence  of  the  "versipellis"  of  this 
text. 

27  Rev.  iii,  14.    Vulg.:  "testis  fidelis  et  verus." 


2l8     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

Fu'io,  e  vidi  cose  che  ridire 

Ne  sa  ne  pud  chi  di  lassu  discende; 

Perche,  appressando  se  al  suo  disire, 
Nostro  intelletto  si  profonda  tanto 
Che  retro  la  memoria  non  pud  ire. 

Veramente  quant'io  del  regno  santo 
Nella  mia  mente  potei  far  tesoro 
Sara  ora  matera  del  mio  canto."  28 

To  explain  and  reenforce  this  exordium,  to 
drive  home  its  high  significance  for  those 
capable  of  understanding,  is  the  real  focus  and 
point  of  Dante's  Epistle  to  Can  Grande. 
Since  such  interpretation  of  the  Epistle  is 
certainly  not  self-evident,  however,  I  must 
try  to  justify  it. 

The  Epistle,  the  authenticity  of  which  is 
now  generally  accepted,29  has  three  parts, — 
epistolary,  doctrinal,  expository.30  Or,  in 
plainer  words,  Dante  begins  with  a  personal 
address  to  his  patron;  then,  under  six  heads, 
he  gives  an  account  of  the  poem  as  an  organic 
whole  including  the  Paradise;  and  finally 
proceeds  to  an  exposition  of  the  literal  sense 
of  the  "Prologue"  31  of  the  Paradise. 

28  Par.  i,  1-12. 

29  Cf.  Paget  Toynbee  in  his  edition  of  the  work,  Oxford, 
1920. 

30  These  are  Paget  Toynbee's  terms. 

31  Par.  i,  1-36. 


THE  COMEDY  OF  DANTE  2IO. 

What  must,  I  think,  strike  every  thoughtful 
reader  is  the  apparently  capricious  manner  of 
treatment,  especially  in  the  socalled  exposi- 
tory part.  The  doctrinal  part  at  least  covers 
the  ground  in  outline ;  but  it  is  expansive  often 
over  seemingly  plain  matters,  and  puzzlingly 
laconic  where  the  reader  would  welcome  help. 
The  expository  part  discusses  with  philosoph- 
ical subtlety  and  apologetic  amplitude  the 
first  part  of  the  Prologue,  the  exordium,  then, 
after  a  mere  perfunctory  division  of  the 
second  part  of  the  Prologue,  the  "invocation," 
breaks  off  lamely,  alleging  as  excuse  anxiety 
as  to  the  author's  "domestic  affairs." 

Superficially  regarded,  what  Dante  appears 
to  be  offering  to  his  patron  is  a  sample, — one 
might  almost  say,  a  bait.  The  reference  to 
his  "rei  familiaris  angustia"  can  be  hardly 
other  than  a  none  too  subtly  insinuated 
appeal  to  the  Magnifico's  generosity.  To 
produce  the  goods  indicated  by  the  sample,  to 
expound  the  whole  poem,  or  even  the  whole 
Paradise,  on  the  scale  adopted  for  the 
exordium,  would  be  a  long  labor,  yet  as- 
suredly one  of  "public  utility."  Dante  will 
gladly  undertake  it,  if  .  .  .  Can  Grande's 
"magnificence"  will  but  provide ! 

This  conception  of  the  Epistle  may  be  true 


220     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

as  far  as  it  goes.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is 
also  true  that  the  Epistle  is  presented  as  an 
objectively  right  foreword  to  the  poem  itself.32 
Let  us  examine  the  argument  more  closely. 

"There  are  six  points,  then,  as  to  which 
enquiry  must  be  made  at  the  beginning  of 
every  didactic  work;  namely,  the  subject,  the 
author,  the  form,  the  aim,  the  title  of  the 
book,  and  the  branch  of  philosophy  to  which 
it  belongs." 33  So  Dante  prepares  for  the 
doctrinal  part  of  his  commentary,  conform- 
ably with  the  usual  rhetorical  rules.  His  six 
categories,  however,  are  not  on  the  same 
plane.  The  first  four  derive,  as  Pietro 
Alighieri  asserts,34  from  Aristotle's  precept: 
"Scire  est  rem  per  caitsas  cognoscere."  The 
causes  of  anything  fall  into  four  categories, — 
efficient,  material,  formal,  and  final.  This 
fourfold  principle  of  causation  gives  Dante 
his  first  four  topics,  the  first  two  being 
inverted  in  order,  namely,  subject,  author,35 

32  Cf.  Ep.  x,  73-74. 

33  lb.  1 18-122. 

34  Commentarium,  ed.  Florence,  1895,  pp.  2-3.  Pietro's 
Prologus,  or  introductory  lecture,  appears  to  be  an  inter- 
pretative amplification  of  the  doctrinal  part  of  Dante's 
Epistle. 

35  By  agente,  Dante  almost  surely  also  intends  himself 
as  protagonist. 


THE  COMEDY  OF  DANTE  221 

form,  and  aim.  His  two  last  categories — title 
and  branch  of  philosophy — are  usually  added, 
says  Pietro,  "magistraliter,"  that  is,  as  a 
matter  of  teaching  practice.  In  principle,  the 
information  conveyed  under  them  would 
naturally  come  out  under  one  or  other  of  the 
first  four  topics,  since  to  know  the  causes  of 
anything  completely  is  to  know  that  thing 
completely.  The  two  supplementary  topics 
only  serve  for  added  clarity  and  convenience 
of  exposition. 

The  first  or  determining  cause  in  any  ac- 
tion is  the  final  cause,  the  author's  aim.36  The 
aim  which  moved  Dante,  as  author,  to  treat  a 
certain  subject-matter,  "the  state  of  souls  after 
death,"  in  the  form  of  the  Comedy,  was,  as  he 
said,  "to  remove  those  living  in  this  life  from 
a  state  of  misery,  and  to  bring  them  to  a  state 
of  felicity."  To  that  end  he  will  show  them 
the  state  of  supreme  misery,  to  wit,  the  state 
of  damned  souls  after  death,  and  the  state  of 
supreme  felicity,  to  wit,  the  state  of  blessed 
souls  after  death.  The  Epistle  itself  defines 
only  the  latter  state :  " .  .  .  true  blessedness 
consists  in  the  apprehension  of  Him  who  is 
the  beginning  of  truth,  as  appears  from  what 
John  says:  'This  is  life  eternal,  to  know  thee 

36  Cf.  St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  I— II,  i,  3,  c. 


222     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

the  true  God/  etc.;  and  from  what  Boethius 
says  in  his  third  book  On  Consolation:  'To 
behold  thee  is  the  end."  This  saying  of 
Boethius,  "Te  cernere  finis,"  is  thus  a  brief  but 
exact  definition  of  the  end  to  which  Dante 
would  bring  "those  living  in  this  life." 

To  bring  his  hearers  to  this  good  end, 
however,  he  must  first,  as  has  been  said, 
induce  them  to  listen  to  him.  To  offer  the 
needed  inducement  is  the  business  of  what  the 
Rhetoricians  call  an  exordium.  "To  make  a 
good  exordium  three  things  are  requisite,  as 
Tully  says  in  his  New  Rhetoric;  that  the 
hearer,  namely,  should  be  rendered  favorably 
disposed,  attentive,  and  willing  to  learn;  and 
this  is  especially  needful  in  the  case  of  a 
subject  which  is  out  of  the  common,  as  Tully 
himself  remarks."  37  Dante's  subject  is  indeed 
"out  of  the  common"  (admirabilis) ;  "for  he 
declares  that  he  will  relate  such  things  as  he 
who  beheld  them  in  the  first  heaven  was  able 
to  retain."  This  declaration  by  itself,  con- 
tinues Dante,  fulfils  the  threefold  purpose  of 
his  exordium ;  "for  the  profitableness  of  what 
he  is  about  to  be  told  begets  a  favorable 
disposition  in  the  hearer;  its  being  out  of  the 
common  engages  his  attention;  and  its  being 

37  Ep.  x,  par.  xix. 


THE  COMEDY  OF  DANTE  223 

within  the  range  of  possibility  renders  him 
willing  to  learn."  38  Having  said  this,  Dante 
immediately  repeats  it ;  and  later,  concluding 
the  detailed  exposition  of  the  exordium,  again 
he  repeats  that  "the  author  says  that  he  will 
relate  concerning  the  celestial  kingdom  such 
things  as  he  was  able  to  retain;  and  he  says 
that  this  is  the  subject  of  his  work."39 

"Et  hoc  dicit  mater  iarn  sui  o  per  is"  It  will 
be  observed  that  Dante  has  silently  amended 
his  previous  definition  of  the  "subject" 
(subjectum) ,  or  "subject-matter"  (materia)  ,40  of 
his  poem,  or  at  any  rate  of  the  Paradise. 
Previously  he  had  declared  his  subject  to 
be  "the  state  of  blessed  souls  after  death."  41 
And  this  definition  is  often  quoted  by  critics 
without  apparent  recognition  of  its  curious 
inadequacy.  It  is  as  if  one  should  define  the 
subject  of  Hamlet  as  "the  something  rotten 
in  the  state  of  Denmark,"  and  altogether 
ignore  Hamlet  himself.  The  real  subject  of 
the  Paradise  is,  on  the  contrary,  "the  state  of 
blessed  souls  after  death" — which  Dante  saw, 

38  "Nam  in  utilitate  dicendorum  benevolentia  paratur; 
in  admirabilitate  attentio;  in  possibilitate  docilitas." 

39  Ep.  x,  par.  xxx. 

40  Either  term  would  indicate  the  causa  materialis. 

41  lb.  231-238. 


224     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

and  so  far  as  he  could  retained  in  mind.  And, 
as  Dante  by  reiteration  emphasizes,  it  is  just 
the  amending  clauses  that  make  his  exordium 
a  perfect  one,  capable  of  making  the  reader 
"benevolum  et  attentnm  et  docilem"  of  moving 
the  reader's  desire  and  will  equally  with 
Dante's  own;  until  the  reader  may  come  to 
say: 

"gia  volgeva  il  mio  disiro  e  il  velle, 
Si  come  ruota  ch'egualmente  e  mossa, 
L'Amor  che  move  il  sole  e  l'altre  stelle,"  42 

as  mediated  for  me  through  this   "true  and 
\faithful  witness"   In  other  words,  Dante  will 
be  to  his  reader  what  Beatrice  had  been  to 
him. 

To  achieve  his  end,  therefore, — the  salva- 
tion of  his  hearer, — Dante's  treatment  of  his 
general  subject, — "the  state  of  blessed  souls 
after  death," — could  not  be  impersonal  and 
objective  like  Milton's  treatment  of  heavenly 
life  in  Paradise  Lost.  Milton  did  indeed 
express  a  thought  at  least  analogous  to 
Dante's  when  he  wrote  that  "He  who  would 
not  be  frustrate  of  his  hope  to  write  well 
hereafter  in  laudable  things  ought  himself 
to  be  a  true  poem."  Therefore,  Milton  might 

42  Par.  xxxiii,  143-145. 


THE  COMEDY  OF  DANTE  225 

have  added,  he  need  not  announce  his 
qualifications  in  his  poem ;  his  poem  itself,  by 
so  much  of  nobility  as  it  might  possess,  must 
prove  him,  its  maker,  to  be  noble.  Dante's 
purpose, — the  final  cause  which  determined 
the  form  of  his  creation, — was  different.  He 
was  concerned  not  merely,  like  Milton, "to 
declare  the  ways  of  God  to  men,"  by  an 
argument,  however  lofty,  based  upon  ex- 
ternal authority,  however  compelling.  He 
would  present  such  an  argument  indeed,  and 
would  summon  to  its  support  the  highest 
external  authorities  available,  to  wit,  the 
self-revelation  of  God  to  men  in  Holy 
Scripture,  as  interpreted  by  Holy  Church : 

"Avete  il  vecchio  e  il  nuovo  Testamento, 
E  il  pastor  della  Chiesa  che  vi  guida: 
Questo  vi  basti  a  vostro  salvamento !"  43 

So  far  he  is  at  one  with  Milton.  But  to  appeal 
to  men  with  such  an  argument  alone  might  in 
a  sense  be  regarded  as  a  work  of  super- 
erogation. His  words  just  quoted  would 
almost  imply  as  much.  For  if  the  Bible  and 
the  direction  of  the  Pope  suffice  for  salvation, 
what  need  for  his  Comedy? 

In  answer,  Dante  might  say  that  indeed  he 

43  Par.  v,  76-78. 


226     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

neither  could,  nor  would,  add  any  least  item 
ot  the  body  of  the  Faith  as  interpreted  from 
the  Bible  by  the  Church.    But,  as  he  defined 

"Fede  e  sustanzia  di  cose  sperate, 

Ed  argomento  delle  non  parventi."  44 

Yet  if  one  has  passed  beyond  faith  to  the 
certitude  of  knowledge,  he  can,  as  a  witness, 
give  testimony  that  must  fortify  the  faith  of 
others  less  favored  of  God.  The  "sustanzia  di 
cose  sperate"  is  the  sustanzia,  or  subject- 
matter,  of  the  Comedy,  but  its  "argomento" 
is  not  "delle  non  parventi."  For  Dante  has  seen 
these  hoped-for  things,  even  to  their  perfec- 
tion in  the  direct  and  immediate  vision  of 
God,  the  cognition  of  his  essence.  And  with 
Dante,  as  with  St.  Paul,  it  must  be  that  God 
had  vouchsafed  this  surpassing  grace  in  order 
that  he  might  be  a  witness  unto  men.  St. 
Augustine  had  asked  as  to  St.  Paul :  "Cur  non 
credamus  quod  tanto  Apostolo,  Doctor i  gentium, 
raptu  usque  ad  ipsam  excellentissimam  vi- 
sionem,  voluerit  Deus  demonstrare  vitam  in  qua 
post  hanc  vitam  vivendum  est  in  aeternum?"*5 
And  St.  Thomas  adds  that  St.  Paul  was 
vouchsafed  his  "rapture"  not  that  he  himself 

44  Par.  xxiv,  64-65. 


THE  COMEDY  OF  DANTE  227 

might  be  blest,  but  that  he  might  be  a  witness 
of  blessedness.46  Moreover  no  more  than 
St.  Paul  does  Dante  pretend  to  have  seen  all 
that  the  blessed  souls  after  death  see,  but  only 
so  much  as  might  be  useful  to  confirm  men's 
faith.47  For  him  and  for  his  reader  Love's 
injunction  would  still  hold:  "Non  domandar 
piU  che  utile  ti  sia!"  What  then  he  saw,  and 
was  able  to  retain  in  mind  and  to  communi- 
cate of  his  supernatural  vision,  was  that 
which  would  be  useful  for  salvation  both  of 
himself  and  of  others.  And  in  effect  this 
residual  boon  is  summed  in  the  last  words  of 
all  of  his  message.48  The  fulgore,  the  divine 
glory  of  what  he  had  seen,  had  penetrated 
into  his  heart,  and  there  re-glowed  as  perfect 
charity,  and  perfect  charity  is  the  one  thing 
needful  for  beatitude.  If  his  true  testimony, 
set  forth  with  all  the  art  and  inspiration 
accorded  to  him,  can  by  its  reflected  flame  so 
kindle  the  hearts  of  his  hearers,  his  appointed 
task  is  done. 

45  X  Super  Genes,  ad  litteram,  lib.  XII,  cap.  xxviii, 
c.  mem.   Quoted  by  St.  Thomas,  De  ver.  xiii,  3,  8. 

46  "Non  enim  rapiebatur  ut  esset  beatus,  sed  ut  esset 
beatitudinis  testis."   lb.  8m. 

47  "Nee  tamen  oportuit  quod  omnia  in  se  experiretur 
quae  beatis  inerunt;  sed  ex  his  quae  experiebatur,  etiam 
alia  scire  posset."   lb. 

48  Par.  xxxiii,  142-145. 


228     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

Dante's  supreme  credential,  then,  one 
making  the  appeal  of  his  exordium  perfect,  is 
that  he  has  been  an  actual  eye-witness  of  the 
divine  things  he  will  tell  of,  of  the  very 
Godhead  itself.  And  it  is  that  fact  which 
makes  his  Comedy  itself  the  most  perfect  of 
all  "comedies"  in  that  its  curve  of  amelioration 
rises  from  the  absolute  zero  of  damnation 
apparently  assured  to  the  maximum  of 
blessedness  attainable  in  this  life.  He  has  been 
shown  to  stand  alone  with  St.  Paul  in  God's 
favor.  No  wonder  he  dares  to  call  himself 
"your  friend"  to  the  "magnificent  and  vic- 
torious Lord  Can  Grande."  "Why  not?"  he 
exclaims.  "Since  even  between  God  and  man 
friendship  is  in  no  wise  impeded  by  in- 
equality?" 49  No  wonder  Beatrice  declares 
that  the  Church  Militant  has  no  son  of 
greater  hope  than  he ; 

"Pero  gli  e  conceduto  che  d'Egitto 
Venga  in  Jerusalemme  per  vedere 
Anzi  che  il  militar  gli  sia  prescritto."  50 

No  wonder  the  spirits  met  in  purgatory  and 
paradise,  amazed  at  his  mortal  presence 
among  them,  reverently  felicitate  this  special 

49  Ep.  x,  par.  ii. 

50  Par.  xxv,  55-57- 


THE  COMEDY  OF  DANTE  229 

friend  of  God.  Hugh  Capet,  for  instance, 
declares  himself  eager  to  inform  him, 

"perche  tanta 
Grazia  in  te  luce  prima  che  sii  morto."  51 

Guido  del  Duca  is  more  emphatic: 

"O  anima,  che  fitta 
Nel  corpo  ancora  in  ver  lo  ciel  ten  vai, 
Per  carita  ne  consola,  e  ne  ditta 
Onde  vieni,  e  chi  sei;  che  tu  ne  fai 
Tanto  maravigliar  della  tua  grazia 
Quanto  vuol  cosa  che  non  fu  piu  mai."  52 

And  in  paradise  Beatrice  commends  him  to 
the  "company  elect"  as  recipient  of  this  most 
special  grace: 

"O  sodalizio  eletto  alia  gran  cena 

Del  benedetto  Agnello,  il  qual  vi  ciba 
Si  che  la  vostra  voglia  e  sempre  piena, 

Se  per  grazia  di  Dio  questi  preliba 

Di  quel  che  cade  della  vostra  mensa, 
Prima  che  morte  tempo  gli  prescriba, 
Ponete  mente  aH'affezione  immensa, 
E  roratelo  alquanto !"  53 

51  Purg.  xx,  41-42. 
62  Purg.  xiv,  10-15. 
53  Par.  xxiv,  1-8. 


230     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

St.  Thomas  strikes  the  same  note  of  holy 
eulogy : 

"Quando 
Lo  raggio  della  grazia,  onde  s'accende 
Verace  amore,  e  che  poi  cresce  amando 

Multiplicato,  in  te  tanto  risplende 
Che  ti  conduce  su  per  quella  scala 
U'senza  risalir  nessun  discende, 

Qual  ti  negasse,"  etc.54 

Such  illustrations  might  be  multiplied. 
But  indeed  everything  in  the  poem  is  in  its 
own  fashion  confirmative  of  the  unique 
quality  of  the  protagonist.  Beatrice  testifies 
to  his  exceptional  endowment  by  nature  and 
by  grace.55  If  in  such  strength  he  fell,  he  fell 
like  Lucifer,  son  of  the  morning.56  In  his 
conversion,  she,  the  "miracle," 57  effected  a 
virtual  miracle.  And  thereafter,  the  whole 
course  of  his  spiritual  progress  is  attended  by 
virtual  miracles.  Demons  and  angels,  sinners 
and  saints,  are  diverted  from  their  eternal 
occupations  to  his  aid.  Satan  himself  must 
permit  his  "shaggy  side"  to  be  used  as  a 


54  Par.  x,  82-88. 

55  Purg.  xxx,  109-117. 

66  Cf.  ib.  1 17-120,  136-138. 

67  V.  N.  xix,  39;  Par.  xviii,  63. 


THE  COMEDY  OF  DANTE  23 1 

ladder.    Dante's  very  modesty  of  disclaimer 
to  Virgil : 

"Io  non  Enea,  io  non  Paolo  sono,"  58 

proves  in  the  event  a  humility  which  specific- 
ally exalts  him.    For  in  the  proof  he  shows 
himself  privileged  even  as  they.    Like  the 
one,  he  descended  into  the  lowest  hell;  like 
the    other,    he    ascended    into    the    highest 
heaven;  and  he  returned  alive  to  earth.    In 
effect,  the  Lord  had  sent  a  messenger  unto 
him,  as  the  Lord  had  sent  Ananias  to  Saul; 
and  what  the  Lord  had  said  of  Saul  would 
apply  also  to  Dante:  ".    .    .   he  is  a  chosen 
vessel 59  unto  me,  to  bear  my  name  before  the 
Gentiles,    and    kings,    and   the    children   of 
Israel;  for  I  will  shew  him  how  great  things 
he  must  suffer  for  my  name's  sake."  60   And 
the  messenger  had  in  effect  also  said  to  him, 
as  Ananias  to  Saul:  "Brother,  the  Lord,  even 
Jesus,  that  appeared  unto  thee  in  the  way  as 
thou    earnest,    hath    sent    me,    that    thou 
mightest  receive  thy  sight,  and  be  filled  with 

58  Inf.  ii,  32. 

59  Dante  uses  the  word  of  himself  in  Par.  i,  14. 

60  Acts  ix,  15-16.  Revelation  to  Dante  of  what  he  must 
suffer  for  truth-telling  is  made  especially  through  Cac- 
ciaguida — Par.  xvii. 


232     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

the  Holy  Ghost.  And  immediately  there  fell 
from  his  eyes  as  it  had  been  scales;  and  he 
received  sight  forthwith." 61  When  Dante 
stands  before  St.  John  in  heaven  to  profess  the 
supreme  Christian  virtue  of  holy  love,  he  is 
blind.  His  momentary  blindness,  like  Saul's,62 
is  due  to  excess  of  light,  in  his  case  the  efful- 
gent glory  of  the  spirit  of  the  Apostle  of  Love. 
To  reassure  him,  St.  John  declares  that  his 
sight  is  but  "srnarrita  e  non  defunta"  and  that 
Beatrice 

"ha  nello  sguardo 
La  virtu  ch'ebbe  la  man  d'Anania."  63 

In  other  words,  Dante  explicitly  asserts 
analogy  between  the  conversion  of  Saul  and 
his  own.  Also,  there  is  another  subtler 
analogy  in  one  of  the  above  passages  from  the 
Acts.  Ananias  said  to  Saul:  "Brother,  the 
Lord,  even  Jesus,  that  appeared  unto  thee  in 
the  way  as  thou  earnest,  hath  sent  me,  that 
thou  mightest  receive  thy  sight,  and  be  filled 
with  the  Holy  Ghost."  Bearing  in  mind  the 
analogy  between  Ananias  and  Beatrice  as 
instruments   of   the   healing   of   Saul's   and 

61  lb.  17-18. 

62  lb.  3,  8-9. 

63  Par.  xxvi,  11-12. 


THE  COMEDY  OF  DANTE  233 

Dante's  "confused"  sight,  we  may  recall  the 
episode  related  in  the  New  Life,  chapter  xxiv. 
There  appeared  to  Dante,  in  the  way  as  he 
came,  Beatrice  preceded  by  Giovanna,  so- 
called,  as  Love  explained  to  him,  "da  qiiello 
Giovanni,  to  qnal  precedette  la  verace  Luce." 
And  Love,  Dante  continues,  added  immedi- 
ately aftenvard  these  words:  "E  chi  volesse 
sottilmente  considerare,  quella  Beatrice  chia- 
merebbe  Amore,  per  molta  sorniglianza  che  ha 
meco."  Manifestly,  Beatrice  is  identified,  in 
some  sort,  with  light  (la  verace  luce)  and  love. 
To  the  other  St.  John  Dante  declared  that  the 
healing  of  his  eyes  began  when  Beatrice 
entered  their  gateway  "with  the  fire  where- 
with I  ever  burn."  This  fire,  which  gives  also 
light,  is  love.64  And,  figuratively  speaking, 
Beatrice  entering  into  Dante  with  the  fire  of 
holy  love  is  in  principle  equivalent  to  the 
Holy  Ghost  entering  into  the  Apostles  as  a 
"tongue  of  fire."65  For  the  Holy  Ghost  is 
Love. 

In  fact,  from  the  Holy  Ghost  come  both 
kinds  of  grace  to  which  in  the  Comedy  Dante 
lays    claim.     These    two    kinds    are    "grace 

64 Par.  xxvi,  13-  5.    Cf.  Purg.  vi,  38;  viii,  77;  xxvii,  96; 
Par.  xx,  115,  etc. 
65  Acts  ii,  3-4. 


234     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

making  acceptable,"  and  "grace  freely  given." 
Meriting  the  former,  man  is  united  to  God. 
Given  the  latter,  with  or  without  merit,  man 
receives  power  "above  the  faculty  of  nature," 
to  aid  his  fellow-men  towards  salvation.66  As 
has  been  shown,  the  "Dante"  of  the  Comedy 
has  both  kinds  of  grace  in  the  highest  degree, 
is  in  fact  openly  and  by  manifold  insinuation 
represented  as  coequal  in  quality  with  the 
Apostle  whose  conversion  was  also  by  a 
miracle,67  who  also,  and  otherwise  alone  of 
living  men,  had  in  rapture  immediate  cogni- 
tion of  the  divine  essence,  and  who  also  in 
the  charity  so  infused  bore  the  persecutions 
of  evil  men  that  he  might  reveal  God  unto 
others.68 

To  modern  ears,  and  I  should  think  even 
to  medieval  ears,  a  self-exaltation  like  this 

66  ".  .  .  Duplex  est  gratia:  una  quidem,  per  quam  ipse 
homo  Deo  conjungitur,  quae  vocatur  gratia  gratum  faciens; 
alia  vero,  per  quam  unus  homo  cooperatur  alteri  ad  hoc, 
quod  ad  Deum  reducatur:  hujusmodi  autem  donum 
vocatur  gratia  gratis  data:  quia  supra  facultatem  naturae, 
et  supra  meritum  personae  homini  conceditur:  sed  quia 
non  datur  ad  hoc,  ut  homo  ipse  per  earn  justificetur,  sed 
potius  ut  ad  justificationem  alterius  cooperetur,  ideo  non 
vocatur  gratum  faciens."  St.  Thomas,  5.  T.  I — II,  cxi,  I,  c. 

67  Cf.  St.  Thomas,  5.  T.  I— II,  cxii,  io,  c. 

68  "Paulus  sextupliciter  excellit  caeteros  apostolos: 
scilicet  quantum  ad  specialem  electionem,  secretorum  Dei 


THE  COMEDY  OF  DANTE  235 

must  appear,  must  have  appeared,  if  not 
lunatic,  almost  blasphemous  in  its  arrogant 
pride.  Let  me  hasten,  therefore,  to  make  the 
distinction  which  the  scholastically  minded 
poet  ever  insists  upon.  I  mean  the  distinction 
between  quality  and  degree.  Though  he 
might  repeat  in  kind  St.  Paul's  experience, 
and  from  the  similar  effect  deduce  similar 
causal  grace,  yet  his  experience  and  his  grace 
might  well  be  upon  an  indefinitely  lower  plane 
of  perfection.  Indeed,  he  confesses  by  impli- 
cation to  the  sins  of  pride  and  envy 69  and  per- 
haps lust.70  And  he  is  humble  enough  before 
Beatrice's  rebuke.  True,  even  in  this  humility 
of  self-denunciation  he  still  parallels  St.  Paul, 
who  said :  "And  lest  I  should  be  exalted  above 
measure  through  the  abundance  of  the  rev- 
elations, there  was  given  to  me  a  thorn  in 
the  flesh,  the  messenger  of  Satan  to  buffet  me, 
lest  I  should  be  exalted  above  measure."  71 

cognitionem,  malorum  perpessionem,  virginalem  integri- 
tatem,  bonorum  operationem  et  maximam  scientiam  qua 
emicuit."  St.  Thomas,  II  Cor.  xii,  lect.  3,  prin°.  The  only 
one  of  these  excellences  not  attributed  to  the  protagonist 
of  the  Comedy  is  "virginal  integrity." 

69  Purg.  xiii,  133-138. 

70  At  least,  his  terror  of  the  purgative  flame  and  scorch- 
ing by  it  {Purg.  xxvii,  13-51)  have  been  so  construed. 

71 II  Cor.  xii,  7. 


236     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

For  the  "thorn  in  the  flesh" — in  the  Vulgate, 
"stimulus  carnis" —  is  interpreted  by  Dante's 
master,  St.  Thomas,  as  "prick  of  concupis- 
cence," and  was  given  to  St.  Paul,  not  for  his 
damnation,  but  to  cure  him  of  his  spiritual 
blindness.72  Precisely  so  Beatrice  declares 
that  Dante 

"Tanto  giu  cadde  che  tutti  argomenti 
Alia  salute  sua  eran  gia  corti, 
Fuor  che  mostrargli  le  perdute  genti."  73 

Really,  he  was  shown  the  state  of  the  damned, 
not  objectively,  but  subjectively — in  his  own 
soul.  One  knows  sin  only  by  sinning.  But 
even  because  his  self-curative  sinning  was  by 
divine  mercy,  he  must  be  predestined  to 
salvation.74 

St.  Paul's  further  words,  however,  give 
the  final  clue  to  Dante's  attitude.  When 
St.  Paul  besought  the  Lord  that  this  "mes- 

72  "Peccatum  autem  ad  duo  ordinatur:  ad  unum  quidem 
per  se,  scilicet  ad  damnationem;  ad  aliud  autem  ex  divina 
misericordia,  vel  providentia,  scilicet  ad  sanationem; 
inquantum  Deus  permittit  aliquos  cadere  in  peccatum,  ut 
peccatum  suum  agnoscentes  humilientur,  et  convertantur." 
St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  I — II,  lxxix,  4,  c. 

73  Purg.  xxx,  136-138. 

74 ".  .  .  haec  misericordia  non  omnibus  impenditur 
excaecatis,  sed  praedestinatis  solum,  quibus  omnia  co- 
operantur  in  bonum."   St.  Thomas,  ib. 


THE  COMEDY  OF  DANTE  237 

senger  of  Satan,"  this  "prick  of  concupis- 
cence," might  depart  from  him,  the  Lord 
answered  him:  "My  grace  is  sufficient  for 
thee:  for  my  strength  is  made  perfect  in 
weakness.  Most  gladly  therefore  will  I 
rather  glory  in  my  infirmities,  that  the  power 
of  Christ  may  rest  upon  me."  75  Therefore 
Dante's  "glorying,"  like  St.  Paul's,  is  in  his 
"infirmities;"  since  in  so  "glorying,"  he 
magnifies  the  grace  of  God  which  has  lifted 
him  above  them.  And  so  indeed  he  would 
explain  even  the  supreme  "grace  freely 
given"  of  his  foretaste  of  beatitude  in  his 
momentary  beatific  vision  of  God.  Having 
asserted  the  truth  of  this  vision,  he  adds  in 
his  Epistle :  "Si  vero  in  dispositionem  elevationis 
tantae  propter  peccatum  loquentis  oblatrarent, 
legant  Danielem,  ubi  et  Nabuchodonosor  in- 
venient  contra  peccatores  aliqua  vidisse  divini- 
tus,  oblivionique  mandasse.  Nam  'Qui  oriri 
solem  suum  facit  super  bonos  et  malos,  et 
pluit  super  iustos  et  iniustos,1  aliquando 
misericorditer  ad  conversionem,  aliquando  severe 
ad  punitionem,  plus  et  minus,  ut  vult,  gloriam 
suam  quantumcumque  male  viventibus  mani- 
festat."  76  "There  is  no  respect  of  persons  with 

75 II  Cor.  xii,  9. 
76 11.  557-569- 


238     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

God." 77  In  spite  of  his  "infirmities,"  or 
mercifully  through  them,  Dante  has  turned 
to  the  light  reflected  for  him  in  Beatrice;  he 
has  been  converted.  He  has  received  the 
"grace  making  acceptable"  in  sufficiency  to 
be  assured  of  ultimate  citizenship  in  that 
Rome  where  Christ  is  a  Roman.78  For 
salvation,  his  merit,  however  otherwise  slight, 
is  enough  increased  by  the  very  reception  of 
the  grace  bestowed. 

"E  non  voglio  che  dubbi,  ma  sie  certo, 
Che  ricever  la  grazia  e  meritorio, 
Secondo  che  l'affetto  l'e  aperto."  79 

The  degree  of  "openness"  depends  upon  holy 
love,  or  charity,  and  his  potential  charity  had 
been  actualized  by  Beatrice,  the  incarnation 
on  earth,  and  for  him  the  representative  in 
heaven,  of  divine  charity.  In  other  words, 
Dante's  saving  merit  is,  like  Folquet,  "quia 
multum  amavit."  Indeed,  Dante  may  have 
intended  to  draw  a  closer  parallel  with 
Folquet.  For  Dante  too  might  say  to  himself: 

"Questo  cielo  80 

77  Rom.  ii,  11. 

78  Purg.  xxxii,  100-102. 

79  Par.  xxix,  64-66. 

80  Venus,  the  sphere  of  love  which  on  earth  had  been 
"shadowed"  with  carnal  desire.    Cf.  Par.  ix,  11 8-1 19. 


THE  COMEDY  OF  DANTE  239 

Di  me  s'imprenta,  com'io  fei  di  lui, 
Che  piu  non  arse  la  figlia  di  Belo — 
Noiando  ed  a  Sicheo  ed  a  Creusa — 
Di  me,  infin  che  si  convenne  al  pelo; 
Ne  quella  Rodopeia,  che  delusa 
Fu  da  Demofoonte;  ne  Alcide 
Quando  Iole  nel  cor  ebbe  richiusa."  81 

Also,  assured  of  redemption,  he  might  echo 
Folquet's  further  words : 

"Non  pero  qui  si  pente,  ma  si  ride — 
Non  della  colpa,  ch'a  mente  non  torna, 
Ma  del  valore  ch'ordino  e  prowide, — "  82 

that  is,  as  already  said,  of  God's  strength, 
which,  made  perfect  in  Dante's  weakness, 
transformed  Dante's  very  fault  into  a  saving 
grace.  Finally,  his  association  with  Folquet 
and  the  heaven  of  Venus  may  be  insinuated 
in  Folquet's  remark : 

"Ma  perche  le  tue  voglie  tutte  piene 
Ten  porti,  che  son  nate  in  queste  spera, 
Procedere  ancor  oltre  mi  conviene."  83 

In  other  words,  Dante's  "will  and  desire"  are 
moved  in  perfect  accord  with  divine  love, 

81  Par.  95-102. 

82  lb.  103-105.  Dante  has  already  experienced  this 
forgetfulness  of  past  fault  after  his  immersion  in  Lethe. 
Purg.  xxxiii,  91-96. 

83  Par.  ix,  109-111. 


24O     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

caritas  in  patria,  but  the  grade  of  his  charity 
is  indicated  by  association  with  the  earth- 
shadowed  heaven  of  Venus. 

If  thus  his  future  rank  among  the  blest  is 
comparatively  modest,  among  men  he  goes 
possessed  of  another  grace  "freely  given,"  that 
is,  altogether  independent  of  his  own  merit, 
which  makes  him  an  inspired  instrument  of 
God.  God  has  revealed  himself  to  him;  and 
by  that  revelation  he  is  given  the  gift  of 
prophecy,  both  fore-seeing  and  far-seeing, 
that  is,  capable  both  of  predicting  future 
contingencies 84  and  of  interpreting  things 
beyond  sense.  Moreover,  with  that  gift  is 
given  also  the  ancillary  gift,  or  grace,  of 
"discourse,"  the  "bello  stile"  in  which  Virgil 
had  indeed  been  his  human  master,85  but  now 
he  follows  the  dictation  of  a  power  greater 
than  any  human  art,  namely,  of  holy  love,86 
which,  in  the  last  analysis,  is  but  the  inspira- 
tion of  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  is  Love.87 

84  E.  g.,  the  coming  triumph  of  the  Veltro. 

85  Inf.  i,  85-87. 

86  Purg.  xxiv,  52-54. 

87  St.  Thomas,  5".  T.  I,  xxxvii.  Cf.  ib.  II — II,  clxxvii,  1, 
im:  ".  .  .  Spiritus  Sanctus  excellentius  operatur  per 
gratiam  sermonis  id,  quod  potest  ars  operari  inferiori 
modo."  In  connection  with  the  above  definition  of  Dante's 
claim  of  the  gift  of  prophecy,  cf.  lb.  1 1 — II,  clxxi-clxxvii  • 
also  the  essay  in  this  volume  entitled  Ariadne's  Crown. 


THE  COMEDY  OF  DANTE  24 1 

In  spite  of  these  distinctions,  the  question 
presses  for  answer — Did  Dante — not  the 
protagonist  of  the  Comedy,  but  the  actual 
Dante  Alighieri  who  wrote  the  Comedy — 
experience  the  mystic  vision  of  God,  or  think 
so?  Of  course,  to  such  a  question  a  categorical 
yes  or  no  is  impossible.  At  most,  we  can  only 
urge  probabilities.88  To  my  mind,  the  gravest 
objection  to  taking  Dante  at  his  apparent 
word  is  the  apparently  total  absence  of 
contemporary  acceptance  of,  or  even  interest 
in,  the  matter.  If  a  man  of  Dante's  position 
and  note  had  seriously  put  forward  a  claim 
not  uncommon  among  mystics,  we  should 
hardly  expect  the  conspiracy  of  silence  that 
exists.  His  own  son,  Pietro,  in  his  commen- 
tary frankly  calls  the  literal  story  of  the 
Comedy  a  "poetic  fiction"  (ficta  poesis).  It 
seems  unlikely  that  he  could  so  misconceive 
so  tremendous  an  experience  of  his  own 
father's. 

Without  pretending  demonstrative  cer- 
tainty,   I   would   offer  a  compromise  view. 

88  Mr.  E.  G.  Gardner  in  his  Dante  and  the  Mystics  finds 
more  positively  affirmative  grounds  in  the  Epistle  to 
Can  Grande  than  I  at  least  can  quite  accept.  Unquestion- 
ably, assuming  the  role  of  his  protagonist,  Dante  writes 
as  if  he  had  had  the  vision. 


242     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

Feeling  himself  moved  by  a  strong  spirit  of 
charity  actualized  by  the  influence  of  Bea- 
trice, Dante  would  have  theological  justifica- 
tion for  believing  himself  given  in  consequence 
the  gifts  of  the  Holy  Spirit.89  Principal  among 
the  gifts  of  the  Holy  Spirit  are  intelligence 
and  wisdom,  possessing  which,  man  "by  a 
certain  connaturalness"  has  cognition  of 
divine  things,  not  by  discursive  reason 
merely,  but  by  a  "divine  instinct"  above 
reason  and  participant  in  the  intuitive  faculty 
of  separate,  or  angelic,  intelligences.90  The 
terminus  ad  quern  of  this  intuitive  cognition  of 

89 " .  .  .  qui  charitatem  habet,  omnia  dona  Spiritus 
Sancti  habet,  quorum  nullum  sine  charitate  haberi  potest." 
St.  Thomas,  S.  T.  I — II,  lxviii,  5,  c. 

90  " .  .  .  circa  res  divinas  ex  rationis  inquisitione  rec- 
tum judicium  habere  pertinet  ad  sapientiam,  quae  est 
virtus  intellectualis:  sed  rectum  judicium  habere  de  eis 
secundum  quamdam  connaturalitatem  ad  ipsas,  pertinet 
ad  sapientiam,  secundum  quod  donum  est  Spiritus  Sancti 
.  .  .  sapientia,  quae  est  donum,  causam  quidem  habet 
in  voluntate,  scilicet  charitatem,  sed  essentiam  habet  in 
intellectu,  cujus  actus  est  recte  judicare."  St.  Thomas, 
5.  T.  1 1 — II,  xlv,  2,  c.  ".  .  .  sapientia  dicitur  intellectualis 
virtus,  secundum  quod  procedit  ex  judicio  rationis:  dicitur 
autem  donum,  secundum  quod  operatur  ex  instinctu 
divino."  lb.  I — II,  lxviii,  I,  4m.  "...  quamvis  cognitio 
humanae  animae  proprie  sit  per  viam  rationis,  est  tamen 
in  ea  aliqua  participatio  illius  simplicis  cognitionis  quae  in 
substantiis  superioribus  invenitur."  St.  Thomas,  De  ver. 
xv,  1,  me°. 


THE  COMEDY  OF  DANTE  243 

divine  things  is  the  beatific  vision,  or  intuitive 
cognition  of  the  supremely  divine  thing,  God. 
Dante's  "poetic  fiction,"  then,  would  be  to 
represent  his  protagonist  as  possessing  to  its 
human  limit  a  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit  actually 
possessed  by  himself,  but  in  lower  degree. 
Such  is  his  procedure  with  all  his  principal 
characters, — except  indeed  with  the  Virgin 
Mary,  who  needs  no  such  enlargement.  But 
Beatrice,  who  represents  Divine  Charity, 
caritas  in  patria,  for  him,  is  conceived  as 
representing  Divine  Charity  in  itself.91  Lucia, 
the  light-bringer  to  darkened  eyes,  becomes 
"intellectual  light"  itself.  Virgil,  the  poet  of  a 
perfectly  rational  philosophy  and  unwitting 
prophet  of  Christ,  becomes  Reason  itself 
made  the  instrument  of  God  by  the  infusion 
of  "grace  freely  given,"  but  without  the  "grace 
making  acceptable."  Cato,  martyr  to  self- 
freedom,  stands  for  the  very  principle  of 
Free  Will.  And  so  it  is  with  the  rest.  Now 
one  man  actually  fulfilled  the  requirements 
for  making  the  human  comedy  of  salvation 
perfect,  who  in  this  life  rose  out  of  the  utter- 
most depths  of  spiritual  misery  to  the 
uppermost  heights  of  spiritual  felicity.   That 

91  Cf.    the    accompanying    essay — The    Three    Blessed 
Ladies. 


244     SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  DIVINE  COMEDY 

man  was  St.  Paul.  And  Dante,  always 
imaginatively  sensitive  to  analogies  and 
correspondences  more  or  less  mystical,  dis- 
covered many  such  between  his  own  spiritual 
experiences  and  those  of  the  Apostle, — 
enough  at  least  to  justify  his  asking,  What 
man  so  worthy  to  represent  St.  Paul  as 
Dante?  even  as  he  had  asked,  What  man  so 
worthy  to  represent  God  as  Cato?  92  But  his 
poetically  affirmative  answer  in  his  own  case 
no  more  means  that  he  regarded  himself  as 
the  actual  peer  of  St.  Paul  than  that  his 
affirmative  answer  in  Cato's  case  means  that 
he  regarded  Cato  as  the  actual  peer  of  God.93 
In  conclusion,  it  may  be  again  noted  that 
what,  as  Dante  said,  gave  "perfection"  to  his 
exordium — declaration  of  the  beatific  vision 
— gave  also  perfection,  in  the  same  literal 
rhetorical  sense,  to  his  "comedy"  as  such.  It  is 
altogether  incorrect,  therefore,  to  define  the 
hero  of  the  poem  as  allegorically  signifying 
typical  Man, — as,  for  instance,  does  the  hero 
of  Everyman,  or  Bunyan's  Christian.94    The 

92  Conv.  IV,  xxviii,  121-123. 

93  Cf.  the  similar  extension  towards  an  ideal  of  his  own 
character  in  the  New  Life.  Cf.  The  "true  meaning"  of  the 
Vita  Nuova  by  the  present  writer,  in  The  Romanic  Review, 
Apr-June,  1920. 

94  Cf.  Paget  Toynbee,  Concise  Dante  Dictionary,  s.  n. 
Dante. 


THE  COMEDY  OF  DANTE  245 

"Dante"  of  the  Comedy,  on  the  contrary, 
represents,  not  mean  humanity,  but  pro- 
gressively the  wholepotentiality  of  human  w 
nature  from  worse  than  brute  to  equal  with' 
angel.95  Or,  in  other  words,  the  character  is 
an  example,  not  of  Man  as  he  normally  is,  but 
of  Man  as  he  may  by  perversion  of  free  will, 
or  by  the  grace  of  omnipotent  God,  extra- 
ordinarily become.  And  the  comedy  of  Dante 
is  that,  in  the  beginning  a  potential  demon, 
he  was  raised  by  love  of  the  perfectly  loving 
Beatrice  to  connaturalness  with  her,  the 
actual  peer  of  angels.96 

95  Cf.  Conv.  Ill,  vii,  69-88. 

96  This  assimilating  power  of  love  is  clearly  stated  by 
Albertus  Magnus:  "Est  enim  amor  amantis  et  amati  quasi 
quaedam  unio  potissimum  in  bonis,  et  naturaliter  illud 
quod  amatur,  in  sui  naturam  suum  convertit  amatorem." 
De  laudibus  b.  Mariae  Virg.,  IV,  xvii,  1. 


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